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PRESENTED  BY 


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A  SKETCH 


OF   ITS   ORIGIN,    HISTORY,    LABORS  FOR   THE   SICK   AND 

WOUNDED  OF  THE  WESTERN  ARMIES,  AND  AIT) 

GIVEN  TO  FREEDMEN  AND  UNION  REFU- 

GEES,  WITH  INCIDENTS  OF 

HOSPITAL  LIFE. 


With  the  respects  of  the  author, 

J.  G.  FOKMAX. 


ST.  LOUIS: 

PUBLISHED    FOR   THE    MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY   SANITARY   FAIR. 

R.  P.  STUDLEY  A  CO. 

1864. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER     I  . 

Origin  of  Sanitary  Commissions — How  the  Western  Commission  came  to  be  organized — 
The  Early  Battles  in  Missouri— Want  of  Preparation  for  taking  care  of  the  Wounded— 
Order  of  Maj.  Gen.  Fremont  constituting  a  Sanitary  Commission — Establishment,  of 
Military  Hospitals  in  St.  Louis— Hospital  Cars  fitted  up  on  the  Pacific  II.  R.—  Voluntary 
Contributions  from  New  England  and  the  Northwestern  States— Loyal  Sympathies  and 
Patriotism  of  the  Women  of  the  Country — Incidents pp .  3 12 

CHAPTER    II. 

Change  of  Department  Commanders  in  the  West— Gen.  Halleck— Large  Increase  of  Troops- 
Hospitals  filled— New  Hospitals  opened— Prevalence  of  Measles,  Pneumonia,  Typhoid 
Fever  and  Diarrhea  during  the  fall  and  winter  of  1861-2— Large  Arrivals  and  Distributions 
of  Sanitary  Stores— Inspection  of  Hospitals— Secretaryship  of  the  Commission— Medical 
Director,  J.  J.  B.  Wright— Deficiency  of  the  Medical  Supply  Table— The  Labors  of  the 
Loyal  and  Patriotic  Women  of  St  Louis  in,  the  Hospitals— The  Employment  of  Female 
Nurses — Their  Heroism  and  Self-sacrifice pp.  13 — 22 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  Battle  of  Fort  Donelson— Activity  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission— Steamers  em 
ployed  to  bring  the  Wounded_  to  the  St.  Louis  Hospitals— A  Delegation  from  the 
Commission  and  the  Ladies'  L'nion  Aid  Society  return  with  a  load  of  the  Wounded — 
Attentions  to  the  Sick— The  first  Suggestion  of  Hospital  Steamers— The  Western  Sanitary 
Commission  immediately  acted  on  the  Suggestion— The  "City  of  Louisiana"  fitted  up 
for  this  Sen-ice— First  trip  to  Island  No.  10— Value  and  usefulness  of  Hospital  Steamers 
proved  by  subsequent  Experience— Assistant  Surgeon  General  R.  C.  Wood— Great  De 
mand  for  Surgeons  and  Nurses— James  M*  Barnard,  Esq.,  of  Boston— Battle  of  Pea 
Ridge— Destitute  Condition  of  the  Sick  and  Wounded— The  Hospitals  at  Cassville— A.  W. 
Plattenburg  sent  by  the  Commission  with  Sanitary  Stores— Interesting  Account  of  his 
Journey  and  of  the  good  accomplished  by  it— The  Agency  Continued— His  Future  Labors 
—Testimonials  of  his  Usefulness— Heroism  of  Mrs.  Phelps  at  Pea  Ridge PP.  23—34 


216595 


11 

C  H  A  P  T  E  It    J  V  . 

Soldiers' Home  Established  at  St.  Louis— Premiums  Awarded  to  the  Stewards  and  Ward- 
masters  of  the  best  Hospitals,  and  to  the  most  Faithful  Nurses — The  Rattle  of  Pittsburg 
Landing— Large  Number  of  Wounded— Additional  Hospital  Steamers  furnished— Volun 
teer  Surgeons  and  Nurses — Additional  Hospitals  fitted  up  at  St.  Louis — Demand  for 
Surgeons — Number  of  Sick  and  Wounded  in  the  St.  Louis  Hospitals — Report  of  the  Com 
mission  PP  .  35—48 

C  H  A  P  T  E  R    V  . 

Letter  of  the  Commission  to  the  Surgeon  General— Scollay's  Deodorizing  Burial  Case- 
Capture  of  Fort  Pillow  and  Memphis— Opening  of  the  Mississippi  River  to  Vicksburg— 
Fitting  out  of  the  Naval  Hospital  Boat  "  Red  Rover"- Arrival  of  Gen.  Curtis'  Army  at 
Helena -Its  Destitute  Condition— Sickness  of  the  Army  at  Helena -Sanitary  Depot  Estab 
lished  there— Overton  Hospital  at  Memphis— Sick  from  the  Army  in  Tennessee -Hospitals 
and  Regiments  Supplied -The  Navy— Letter  from  Commodore  Davis— An  Earnest  Appeal 
from  the  Commission— Generous  Response  from  New  England PP.  49-59 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Army  of  the  Frontier  —  Agent  sent  to  Springfield,  Mo. ,  with  stores  —  Battles  at  Cross  Hol 
lows,  Cane  Hill,  and  Prairie  Grove— Arrival  of  Rev.  Mr.  Newell  at  Fayetteville  with  am 
bulances  and  sanitary  goods  —His  useful  services  —  His  death  at  a  later  period— Notice  of 
his  character— Flying  hospitals— Additional  hospitals  at  St.  Louis— The  Marine,  Jefferson 
Barracks,  and  Lawson  Hospitals  — The  diminishing  per  centage  of  deaths —The  hopeful 
condition  of  the  armies  of  the  Union— The  sympathy  of  the  people  with  the  soldiers— Pros 
pects  of  ultimate  victory PP .  60—07 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Gen.  Sherman's  first  attack  on  Vicksburgh —  Works  assaulted  —  Severe  losses  to  the  Union 
arms — Hospital  steamers  bring  the  wounded  to  Memphis  and  St.  Louis — Battle  of  Arkan 
sas  Post— More  wounded  brought  to  St.  Louis  — Delegation  of  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid  So 
ciety  of  St.  Louis  —  Iowa  State  agent  —  Renewal  of  the  expedition  against  Vicksburg,  by 
Gen.  Grant— Increased  hospital  accommodations  required— Visit  of  Mr.  Yeatman  to  Gen. 
Grant's  army— His  letter— Benton  Barracks  hospital,  St.  Louis— Additional  hospitals  at 
Memphis  — The  floating  hospital,  "City  of  Alton,"  the  "  Ruth,  "  and  "Glasgow"  — 
Second  visit  of  Mr.  Yeatman  to  Gen.  Grant's  army  —  His  report — Sanitary  stores  sent 
to  Gen .  Grant's  army— Fall  of  Vicksburg— Its  untitled  heroes pp .  68—79 

CHAPTER     VIII. 

Soldiers'  Homes  at  Columbus,  Ky.,  Memphis,  Vicksburg,  and  Helena— Over  150,000  soldier 
guests  entertained — Further  account  of  the  St.  Louis  hospitals — Whole  number  of  patients 
treated— Number  of  deaths— Per  centage  of  deaths— The  military  prisons  at  St.  Louis  and 
Alton,  Illinois — Humane  treatment  of  sick  prisoners pp.  80 — 99 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Sanitary  stores  sent  to  the  army  of  Gen.  Davidson,  at  Bloomllcld,  Missouri— Part  of  them 
captured  by  Guerrillas — Narrow  escape  of  the  Agent — Stores  sent  to  the  army  of  General 
Steele,  at  Du vail' s  Bluff  and  Little  Rock— Agency  established  at  Little  Rock— Acknow 
ledgements— Stores  sent  to  Foi-t  Blunt,  Cherokee  Nation— Acknowledgment—Stores  sent 
to  colored  troops  at  Miliken's  Bend,  Goodrich's  Lending,  and  Yicksburg  —  Letters  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Eliot  and  Mr.  Yeatman— Books  and  instruction  furnished  to  colored  troops  at 
Benton  Barracks— Letter  from  Colonel  A.  Watson  Webber— Stores  sent  to  Nashville  and 
Murfreesboro,  Tenn.  —  Agency  at  Hunlsville,  Ala. — Stores  sent  to  the  Naval  Flotilla  — 
Veteran  Regiments  entertained  at  St.  Louis— Stores  to  the  33d  Ills,  infantry— Acknowledg 
ment — Stores  to  Banks'  army  on  Red  River— Several  important  questions  answered— Do 
the  Soldiers  get  any  of  the  Sanitary  stores?  — Illustration  — Accountability  of  Agents — 
Hospitals,  regiments,  hospital  steamers  and  gunboats  supplied  with  Sanitary  stores — List 
of  Female  Nurses  who  have  proved  their  worth  in  the  hospitals  of  St.  Louis PP.  91 — 109 

C  II  A  P  T  E  R     X  . 

The  Freedmen  of  the  Mississippi  —  Fii-st  efforts  for  their  relief  at  Helena  — Miss  Maria  R. 
Mann— Mr.  Yeatman 's  visits  to  the  freedmen,  from  Island  No.  10,  to  Natchez— Chaplain 
H.  D.  Fisher  detailed  as  an  Agent  of  the  Commission,  to  make  an  appeal  for  aid,  in  New 
England  —  Generous  contributions  received —Mr.  Yeatman' s  Report  —  Condition  of  the 
freedmen — The  subject  presented  to  the  attention  of  the  Government  —Mr.  AV.  P.  Mellen 
and  Mr.  Yeatman  return  to  carry  into  effect  an  improved  system  of  leasing  the  abandon 
ed  plantations,  and  of  securing  better  wages  to  the  laborers— Second  visit  to  Washington  — 
Military  protection  given— National  and  other  Freedmen 's  Relief  Associations — Messrs. 
Marsh  and  Foster  go  to  Vicksburg  as  agents — Teachers  sent  —  Death  of  one  of  the  num 
ber— 4,500  freedmen  arrive  with  the  return  of  Gen.  Sherman's  army  from  Meridian— Their 
condition — Aid  given — Union  refugees  of  the  Mississippi  Valley— Refugee.  Home  at  St  . 
Louis— Refugees  at  Pilot  Knob  — Labors  of  Sup't.  A.  Wright  —  Refugee  Home  at  Vicks 
burg— School  for  refugee  children pp .  110-  128 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Resources  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission— Appropriations  by  the  Governor  and  Legis 
lature  of  Missouri—  Liberality  of  St.  Louis— Donations  from  Massachusetts  and  California 
— Gifts  of  the  Peaple — Contributions  from  the  Women  of  the  Loyal  States— Distributions 
by  the  Commission— Number  of  Articles  given— Estimated  value  one  and  a  half  millions 
of  dollars -Expenses  of  the  Commission  for  Salaries  of  Agents,  Rents,  and  Distribu 
tion  of  Stores  less  than  one  per  cent. — Friendship  of  Major  Generals  Fremont,  Halleck  , 
Curtis,  Scholield,  Rosecrans,  Sherman,  and  Lieut.  Gen.  Grant  for  the  Commission- 
Also,  of  Assistant  Surgeon  General  Wood,  Gen.  Allen,  Colonels  Parsons,  Myers, 
Haines,  and  Maj.  Smith -Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society  of  St.  Louis -Its  Work— Receipt  s 
and  Disbursements -Freedmen's  Relief  Society  of  St.  Louis -Its  Work— Receipts  and 
Disbursements-Mississippi  Valley  Sanitary  Fair— Conclusion PP.  12!>— IJjS 


THE 


0mmjss0n 


CHAPTER    I. 

ORIGIN  OF  SANITARY  COMMISSIONS — How  THE  WESTERN  COMMISSION  CAME  TO  BE 
ORGANIZED — THE  EARLY  BATTLES  IN  MISSOURI — WANT  OF  PREPARATION  FOR 
TAKING  CARE  OF  THE  WOUNDED — ORDER  OF  MAJ.  GEN.  FREMONT  CONSTITUTING  A 
SANITARY  COMMISSION — ESTABLISHMENT  OF  MILITARY  HOSPITALS  IN  ST.  Louis — 
HOSPITAL  CARS  FITTED  UP  ON  THE  PACIFIC  R.  R. — VOLUNTARY  CONTRIBUTIONS 
FROM  NEW  ENGLAND  AND  THE  NORTH-WESTERN  STATES — LOYAL  SYMPATHIES  AND 
PATRIOTISM  OF  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  COUNTRY— INCIDENTS. 


THE  first  organized  attempt  to  mitigate  the  horrors  of  war,  to  pre 
vent  disease  and  save  the  lives  of  those  engaged  in  military  service. 
by  sanitary  measures  and  a  more  careful  nursing  of  the  sick  and 
wounded,  was  made  by  a  commission  appointed  by  the  British  Gov 
ernment  during  the  Crimean  war,  to  inquire  into  the  terrible  mortality 
from  disease  that  attended  the  British  army  at  Sebastopol,  and  to  apply 
the  needed  remedies.  It  was  as  a  part  of  this  great  work  that  the 
heroic  young  Englishwoman,  Florence  Nightingale,  with  her  army  of 
nurses,  went  to  the  Crimea  to  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldier, 
to  minister  in  hospitals,  and  to  alleviate  suffering  and  pain,  with  a  self- 
sacrifice  and  devotion  that  has  made  her  name  a  household  word, 
wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken.  In  the  armies  of  France  the 
Sisters  of  Charity  had  rendered  similar  services,  and  even  ministered 
to  the  wounded  on  the  battle  field;  but  their  labors  were  a  work  of 
religious  charity  and  not  an  organized  sanitary  movement. 


The  experience  of  armies  having  shown  that  not  less  than  five  sol 
diers  die  of  disease  to  every  one  killed  in  battle,  it  became  a  problem, 
whether  this  immense  loss  could  not  be  greatly  diminished  by  sani 
tary  means,  and  the  military  strength  of  a  people  be  proportionally 
increased  by  a  greater  economy  of  life,  and  the  superior  health,  vigor, 
and  aggressive  power  of  its  armies.  To  this  consideration  was  also 
added  the  Christian  duty  of  a  people  to  minister  to  the  comfort  and 
health  of  men  engaged  in  so  perilous  a  service,  leaving  their  homes 
and  families  and  kindred  to  encounter  sickness,  wounds,  and  death, 
for  the  sake  of  country  and  liberty. 

The  result  of  the  enquiries  of  the  British  Commission,  and  of  the 
researches  of  medical  science  has  clearly  established  the  fact  that  the 
"  efficiency  of  an  army  must  ever  depend  upon  the  state  of  health  of 
the  corps  which  compose  it;"  and  that  "the  history  of  war  can  110 
longer  be  confined  to  bare  details  of  the  plans  of  battles  and  the 
manoeuvres  of  armies,"  but  that  "w^e  must  refer  to  other  elements, 
and  principally  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  troops  as  the  causes  of 
our  victories,  or  the  reasons  for  our  disasters."  * 

The  idea  of  an  organization  of  civilians  to  look  after  the  health  of 
the  armies  of  the  United  States,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  present  war, 
and  to  minister  to  the  sick  and  wounded,  when  the  great  battles  should 
be  fought,  which  it  was  foreseen  must  be  the  inevitable  results  of  the 
conflict,  originated  in  the  minds  of  humane  and  patriotic  men,  who  had 
the  welfare  of  the  country,  and  its  noble  defenders,  at  heart,  and  took 
form  in  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1861,  in  the  formation  of  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission,  with  its  centre  of  operations  at  Washing 
ton,  and  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  with  its  field  of  service 
at  St.  Louis,  and  in  the  armies,  the  navy  and  the  hospitals  of  the  west. 

The    noble    labors   of  the    U.   S.   Commission  and  its   subordinate 


*  The  British  Army  and  Miss  Nightingale .  By  Charles  Shrimpton ,  M .  D . ,  late  Surgeon 
Major  in  the  French  Army,  London:  Bailliere  Brothers,  18G4.  Quoted  in  North  American 
Review,  April,  1864. 


branches  having  been  already  recorded  in  a  valuable  history,*  and 
in  various  publications,  it  is  proposed  in  the  present  publication  to 
give  a  sketch  of  the  "Western  Commission,  its  modes  of  operation, 
its  agencies  and  labors  in  the  western  armies  and  hospitals,  its  inci 
dental  work  for  the  Freedmaii  and  Union  refugees,  and  its  plans  of 
usefulness  for  the  future  of  the  war. 

The  organization  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  was  the 
result  of  circumstances  growing  out  of  the  war  in  Missouri  ;  the 
necessity  for  it  was  both  sudden  and  unexpected,  and  its  earliest 
labors  were  entirely  spontaneous  and  unpremeditated.  The  city  of 
Saint  Louis  had  become  the  Headquarters  of  the  Military  Depart 
ment  of  the  West.  During  the  summer  of  1861  the  battles  of 
Boonville,  Dug  Spring,  Carthage,  and  Wilson's  Creek,  were  fought  in 
Missouri,  the  last  on  the  10th  of  August,  twelve  miles  south  of  Spring- 
field,  near  the  Fayetteville  road.  This  was  one  of  the  most  desperately 
fought  engagements  of  the  war,  and  the  number  of  killed  and 
wounded  was  very  great.  The  wounded,  numbering  721,  were 
brought  all  the  way  from  Springfield  to  Rolla  in  ambulances  and 
army  wagons,  and  thence  by  cars  to  Saint  Louis,  and  so  little 
preparation  had  then  been  made  for  such  an  event  that  there  were 
not  additional  hospital  accommodations  for  so  many  in  the  whole 
city.  The  "Ke\v  House  of  Refuge  Hospital,"  situated  two  miles 
south  of  St.  Louis,  had  only  been  opened  on  the  6th  of  the  same 
month,  by  Medical  Director  De  Camp,  with  Dr.  Bailley  in  charge, 
two  excellent  and  humane  surgeons  of  the  regular  army,  and  was  as 
yet  unfinished  and  unprovided  with  the  requisites  of  a  good  hospital. 
Its  condition  at  the  time  is  thus  described  in  an  article  in  the  North 
American  Review  for  April,  1864,  entitled  "Loyal  Work  in  Missouri." 
''  It  had  neither  stoves,  nor  bedsteads,  nor  beds,  nor  bedding,  nor 
food,  nor  nurses,  nor  any  thing  prepared.  The  first  hundred  arrived 


*The  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  Boston;   Little, Brown  Company,  1863. 


6 

at  night.  They  had  been  brought  in  wagons  a  hundred  and  twenty 
miles,  over  a  rough  road,  by  hurried  marches,  suffering  for  food 
and  water,  from  Springfield  to  Holla,  and  thence  by  rail  to  Saint 
Louis  to  the  station  on  Fourteenth  Street.  There,  having  had 
nothing  to  eat  for  ten  hours,  they  were  put  into  furniture  carts 
(much  better  than  those  instruments  of  torture  called  ambulances) 
and  carried  the  remaining  three  miles.  Bare  walls,  bare  floors,  and 
an  empty  kitchen  received  them  ;  but  the  kind-hearted  surgeon, 
Bailley,  did  all  he  could  to  make  kindness  take  the  place  of  good 
fare.  He  obtained  from  the  neighbors  cooked  food  for  their  supper, 
and  lost  no  time  in  getting  together  the  various  means  of  comfort. 
The  poor  fellows  were  so  shattered  and  travel-worn  that  they  were 
thankful  enough  to  get  eatable  food,  with  the  hard  boards  to  sleep 
upon,  and  no  word  of  complaint  did  we  ever  hear  one  of  them 
utter.  In  the  course  of  the  week  three  or  four  hundred  more  were 
brought  in,  the  condition  of  things  meanwhile  rapidly  improving  ; 
but  so  great  was  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  anything  that  was 
wanted,  that  many  of  the  badly  wounded  men  lay  there  in  the 
same  unchanged  garments  in  wThich  they  had  been  brought  from  the 
battle-field  three  weeks  before.  Every  day,  however,  made  things 
better,  and  by  the  end  of  a  month  from  the  first  arrivals  Dr.  Bailley 
began  to  say  that  'it  was  not  yet  what  he  called  a  good  hospital, 
but  that  the  men  were  all  comfortable.' " 

Arrivals  of  sick  and  wounded  continued  and  other  accommodations 
had  to  be  obtained  without  delay.  All  the  available  wards  of  the 
Saint  Louis  Hospital,  kept  by  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  and  of  the 
City  Hospital  were  immediately  taken  and  filled,  and  still  there 
was  need  of  more  hospitals.  The  sad  and  neglected  condition  of 
those  who  were  brought  from  Springfield  excited  the  benevolent  and 
patriotic  sympathies  of  all  who  loved  their  country  and  its  brave 
defenders.  The  wounds  of  many  had  not  been  dressed  since  their 
first  dressing  after  the  battle  ;  others  were  still  suffering  from 


unextracted  bullets  and  pieces  of  shell,  and  the  hospitals  were 
unprovided  with  the  necessary  hospital  clothing  to  substitute  for 
the  soiled  clothing  of  the  men,  which  in  many  instances  were 
saturated  with  the  blood  of  their  wounds. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  was 
suddenly  called  into  existence.  Miss  D.  L.  Dix,  the  philanthropist, 
was  then  in  Saint  Louis,  and  in  communication  with  the  new  Com 
mander  of  the  Department,  Major  General  Fremont  ;  Mrs.  Fremont 
was  also  deeply  interested  in  every  thing  relating  to  the  welfare 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  soldier  ;  other  persons  of  humane  and 
patriotic  motives  and  sentiments  were  personally  known  to  General 
Fremont,  and  the  suggestion  of  a  Sanitary  Commission  at  Saint 
Louis,  to  be  subordinate  to  and  act  in  aid  of  the  Medical  Depart 
ment,  coming  from  such  sources,  was  favorably  regarded  and  carried 
into  immediate  effect.  An  order  was  issued  by  him  on  the  5th 
of  September,  appointing  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  in  which 
its  duties  and  sphere  of  action  were  thus  defined : 

"Its  general  object  shall  be  to  carry  out,  under  the  properly  con 
stituted  military  authorities,  and  in  compliance  with  their  orders, 
such  sanitary  regulations  and  reforms  as  the  well-being  of  the  soldiers 
demand. 

"This  Commission  shall  have  authority — under  the  directions  of 
the  Medical  Director — to  select,  fit  up  and  furnish  suitable  buildings 
for  Army  and  Brigade  Hospitals,  in  such  places  and  in  such  manner 
as  circumstances  require.  It  will  attend  to  the  selection  and  appoint 
ment  of  women  nurses,  under  the  authority  and  by  the  direction 
of  Miss  D.  L.  Dix,  General  Superintendent  of  the  Nurses  of  Mili 
tary  Hospitals  in  the  United  States.  It  will  co-operate  with  the 
surgeons  of  the  several  hospitals  in  providing  male  nurses,  and  in 
whatever  manner  practicable,  and  by  their  consent.  It  shall  have 
authority  to  visit  the  different  camps,  to  consult  with  the  com 
manding  officers,  and  the  colonels  and  other  officers  of  the  several 


8 

regiments,  with  regard  to  the  sanitary  and  general  condition  of  the 
troops,  and  aid  them  in  providing  proper  means  for  the  preserva 
tion  of  health  and  prevention  of  sickness,  by  supply  of  wholesome 
and  well  cooked  food,  by  good  systems  of  drainage,  and  other 
practicable  methods.  It  will  obtain  from  the  community  at  large 
such  additional  means  of  increasing  the  comfort  and  promoting  the 
moral  and  social  welfare  of  the  men,  in  camp  and  hospital,  as  may 
be  needed,  and  cannot  be  furnished  by  Government  Regulations. 
It  will,  from  time  to  time,  report  directly  to  the  Commander-in-Chief 
of  the  Department  the  condition  of  the  camps  and  hospitals,  with 
such  suggestions  as  can  properly  be  made  by  a  Sanitary  Board. 

"  This  Commission  is  not  intended  in  any  way  to  interfere  with 
the  Medical  Staff,  or  other  officers  of  the  army,  but  to  co-operate 
\\ilh  them,  and  aid  them  in  the  discharge  of  their  present  arduous 
and  extraordinary  duties.  It  will  be  treated  by  all  officers  of  the 
army,  both  regular  and  volunteer,  in  this  Department,  with  the 
respect  due  to  the  humane  and  patriotic  motives  of  the  members, 
and  to  the  authoiity  of  the  Oommander-in-Chief. 

"  This  Sanitary  Commission  will,  for  the  present,  consist  of  James 
E.  Yeatman,  Esq.;  C.  S.  Greeley,  Esq.;  J.  B.  Johnson,  M.  D. ; 
George  Partridge,  Esq.,  and  the  Rev.  Win.  G.  Eliot,  D.  D." 

As  soon  as  this  order  was  issued  the  gentlemen  named  in  it, 
acting  as  a  Sanitary  Commission,  commenced  their  labors  in  con 
nection  with  the  Medical  Department.  Their  first  important  work 
was  the  fitting  up  of  a  new  hospital  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate 
at  least  five  hundred  patients.  Negotiations  were  opened  for  renting 
the  large  five  story  marble-fronted  building,  corner  of  Fifth  and 
Chesnut  streets,  which  was  secured  at  a  reasonable  rent.  Necessary 
alterations  were  made,  arrangements  for  bathing  introduced,  special 
diet-kitchens  were  fitted  up,  and  the  whole  building  furnished  with 
beds  and  bedding.  On  the  10th  of  September  it  was  opened  for 
the  reception  of  patients,  under  the  charge  of  Surgeon  John  T. 


9 

Ilodgen,  U.  8.  V.,  with  a  competent  corps  of  Assistant  Surgeons, 
apothecary,  steward,  ward  masters,  nurses,  &c.,  under  the  title  of 
the  "City  General  Hospital.*' 

It  was  rapidly  filled  with  patients  and  continued  as  a  military 
hospital  until  the  autumn  of  1863,  under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Hodgen, 
whose  able  and  faithful  services  and  great  surgical  skill  were  fully 
recognized  and  appreciated  by  the  Medical  Department  and  by  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission,  with  whom  his  relations  have  always 
been  most  intimate,  and  whose  members  have  ever  found  in  him 
a  willing  co-worker  and  friend. 

Being  located  in  a  central  part  of  the  city,  convenient  to  the 
rail  road  depots  and  the  river,  it  was  the  place  of  reception  of 
nearly  all  the  severely  wounded  and  the  hopelessly  sick  on  their 
arrival,  for  which  reasons  its  per  centage  of  deaths  was  large,  being 
144  for  a  period  of  nearly  two  years  ;  but  it  was  one  of  the  best 
conducted  and  well  managed  hospitals  in  the  west. 

It  was  in  this  building  the  Wesiern  Sanitary  Commission  com 
menced  its  useful  and  arduous  labors,  having  its  office  in  a  small 
room  at  the  left  of  the  entrance,  in  the  second  story,  and  a  store 
room  for  sanitary  goods  in  the  basement,  its  members  meeting  every 
day  for  consultation  and  action;  its  President,  Jas.  E.  Yeatman,  giv 
ing  his  whole  time  to  the  work,  and  having  only  one  man  to  act 
as  store  keeper,  porter  and  clerk,  at  tlie  small  salary  of  thirty  dollars 
a  month  ;  and  yet  the  work  went  on,  each  member  of  the  Commis 
sion  lending  a  helping  hand,  boxes  of  sanitary  stores  arriving  from 
New  England,  and  from  the  various  towns  and  cities  of  the  West, 
prepared  and  forwarded  by  the  willing  hands  of  the  wives  and 
mothers  and  daughters  of  the  land,  and  being  distributed  as  needed 
to  the  hospitals  and  camps,  and  regiments  m  and  around  St.  Louis, 
and  at  more  distant  posts  in  the  interior  of  the  State. 

From  September  12th  to  September  21st,  occurred  the  seige,  the  bat 
tle,  and  surrender  of  Lexington,  Mo.,  which  threw  some  three  hundred 


10 

more  wounded  men  upon  the  hospitals  of  St.  Louis.  During  the  two 
months  in  which  these  events  happened,  besides  the  hospitals  already 
named,  five  more  were  added,  the  Good  Samaritan,  the  Fourth  Street 
or  Eliot  Hospital,  the  Pacific,  the  Post  and  the  Convalescent  Hospitals 
at  Bentoii  Barracks. 

During  the  month  of  October,  Maj.  Gen.  Fremont  took  the  field  in 
person,  with  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  troops,  and  went  in  pursuit 
of  the  rebel  Gen.  Price,  who  had  retreated  from  Lexington.  This 
pursuit  was  continued  to  Springfield,  Mo.,  under  forced  marches,  and 
on  Gen.  Fremont's  removal  from  the  command,  November  5th,  the 
army  was  ordered  back  again  by  the  new  commander,  Maj.  Gen.  Hun 
ter.  By  this  long  and  toilsome  march  and  counter  march,  many  of  the 
troops  were  broken  down,  and  were  transferred  to  the  hospitals. 

One  of  the  last  acts  that  Gen.  Fremont  performed,  on  leaving  St 
Louis  on  this  expedition,  was  an  order,  alike  creditable  to  Ins  judg 
ment  and  his  humanity,  directed  to  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission, 
to  fit  up  two  hospital  cars  on  the  Pacific  Railroad,  with  berths,  nurses, 
cooking  arrangements,  etc.,  for  the  transportation  of  the  sick  and 
wounded,  which  was  done.  These  were  probably  the  first  hospital 
cars  prepared  and  furnished  as  such  in  the  United  States,  and  for 
several  months  they  proved  exceedingly  useful. 

Through  all  these  exciting  months  the  members  of  the  Western  Sani 
tary  Commission  continued  their  voluntary  labors  without  abatement, 
and  the  fitting  up  of  all  these  hospitals  was  left  mainly  to  them  by  the 
then  acting  Medical  Director.  As  sanitary  stores  were  needed,  appeals 
were  made  through  the  newspapers  and  generously  responded  to  by 
the  people  of  St.  Louis.  Gradually  the  work  of  the  Commission  be 
came  more  widely  known ;  some  of  its  members  having  a  large  acquain 
tance  in  New  England,  an  interest  was  excited  there,  and  contributions 
of  hospital  clothing,  bandages,  lint,  dried  and  canned  fruits,  jellies  and 
other  delicacies  for  the  sick,  began  to  arrive  from  that  source,  and  from 
Wisconsin,  Iowa,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  other  Western  States.  From 


11 

the  principal  cities  and  towns  of  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  and 
Rhode  Island ;  from  Boston,  Providence  and  Portsmouth;  from  Salem, 
New  Bedford,  Worcester,  Springfield,  Cambridge,  Cambridgeport, 
Roxbury,  Newton,  and  many  other  towns,  boxes  came  filled  with  new 
blankets,  sheets,  comforters,  pillows,  towels,  socks,  mittens,  bandages, 
lint,  and  many  little  articles  of  convenience  for  the  soldier's  private 
use,  such  as  needle  books,  pin  cushions,  handkerchiefs,  games  for 
amusement,  little  boxes  of  salve  for  sores  and  wounds,  all  showing 
the  thoughtful  sympathy  and  affection  of  the  noble  women  of  the 
country  for  those  who  had  taken  up  arms  to  vindicate  the  majesty  01 
the  Government  against  a  most  unholy  rebellion — a  cause  in  which 
their  own  fathers,  husbands,  brothers,  and  sons  had  enlisted  that  they 
might  preserve  the  institutions  of  liberty  to  themselves  and  coming 
generations. 

It  was  au  interesting  spectacle  to  see  these  boxes  opened  in  the  store 
rooms  of  the  Commission,  and  on  examination  to  find  in. the  socks  and 
mittens  (of  which  there  were  many  thousand  pairs,  in  anticipation 
of  the  needs  of  the  winter,)  tracts  and  manuscript  letters,  full  of  words 
of  advice,  encouragement  and  sympathy.  Sometimes  there  would  be 
found  in  the  toe  of  a  sock  a  letter  addressed,  "  To  the  soldier  who  shall 
wear  these  socks  :  Be  of  good  cheer !  may  these  socks  keep  your  feet 
warm,  while  you  stand  on  your  post,  or  march  on  to  battle  and 
victory!"  "May  the  rebellion  soon  be  subdued,  and  you  have  the 
satisfaction  of  having  aided  in  the  glorious  work."  Sometimes  quite 
lengthy  epistles  would  be  folded  up  in  these  presents,  with  the  names 
and  address  of  the  writers  given,  and  we  have  known  some  very 
pleasant  correspondence  to  follow  from  these  friendly  missives  to  the 
soldiers.  In  one  instance  a  pocket  bible  was  contained  among  the 
sanitary  stores,  having  the  name  and  address  of  the  giver,  and  was 
given  to  an  intelligent  and  faithful  soldier  at  Rolla,  who  wrote  the  lady 
an  acknowledgment  of  the  gift,  and  a  very  interesting  and  profitable 
correspondence  resulted. 


Sometimes  these  presents  would  contain  a  slip  of  paper,  on  which 
would  be  written,  "  Knit  by  a  little  girl,  eight  years  of  age,"  and  some 
times  another  would  be  written,  "  Knit  by  E F ,  aged  seventy- 
six  years,"  showing  that  from  childhood  to  age  the  women  of  the 
country,  were  heart  and  hand  with  their  country's  defenders,  in  the 
war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

From  the  Northwestern  States  contributions  also  came  in  freely, 
especially  from  Wisconsin,  where  the  Rev.  H.  A.  lieid,  and  his  wife, 
devoted  themselves,  with  a  truly  Christian  zeal,  to  the  work  of  soliciting 
supplies.  Illinois  and  Iowa,  and  Michigan  also  did  their  part  nobly, 
and  a  few  gifts  were  sent  from  Ohio,  though  the  contributions  from 
that  State  went  mostly  to  the  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission.  The  sup 
plies  sent  from  these  Western  States  were  largely  of  canned  and  dried 
fruits,  jellies,  butter,  etc.,  for  the  use  of  the  sick.  In  this  connection  the 
City  of  Madison,  and  all  the  smaller  towns  in  Wisconsin,  the  cities  of 
Chicago,  Quincy,  Alton,  Peoria,  and  the  smaller  towns  in  Illinois ;  the 
cities  of  Detroit,  Ypsilaiiti,  Marshall,  Battle  Creek,  and  other  places 
in  Michigan,  the  cities  of  Davenport,  Dubuque,  Keokuk,  and  the  towns 
of  Iowa  will  be  long  and  gratefully  remembered. 


C  H  A  P  T  E  li    II. 
CHANGE   OK   DEPARTMENT  COMMANDERS   IN    THE  WEST— GENERAL  HALLECK— LARGE 

INCREASE     OF    TROOPS-HOSPITALS     FILLED— NEW   HOSPITALS     OPENED— PREVALENCE 

OF  MEASLES,  PNEUMONIA,  TYPHOID  FEVER  AND  DIARRHEA  DURING  THE  FALL 
AND  WINTER  OF  1861-2— LARGE  ARRIVALS  AND  DISTRIBUTIONS  OF  SANITARY  STORES 
—INSPECTION  OF  HOSPITALS— SECRETARYSHIP  OF  THE  COMMISSION— MEDICAL  DI 
RECTOR,  J.  J.  B.  WRIGHT— DEFICIENCY  OF  THE  MEDICAL  SUPPLY  TABLE— THE 
LABORS  OF  THE  LOYAL  AND  PATRIOTIC  WOMEN  OF  ST.  Louis  IN  THE  HOSPITALS 
—THE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  FEMALE  NURSES— THEIR  HEROISM  AND  SELF-SACRIFICE. 


On  the  removal  of  Maj.  Gen.  Fremont,  his  successor  continued  in 
command  but  sixteen  days,  when  he  was  superseded  by  the  appoint 
ment  of  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck  on  the  21st  of  November.  The  business 
of  recruiting,  which  had  suffered  on  account  of  these  changes,  was 
now  revived  and  carried  forward  successfully,  until  there  were  en 
camped  at  Benton  Barracks,  during  the  months  of  December  and 
January,  1861-?62,  over  twenty  thousand  troops,  infantry,  cavalry,  and 
artillery,  from  nearly  all  the  Western  States.  The  extensive  grounds 
and  barracks  prepared  by  General  Fremont  were  entirely  occupied, 
and  the  work  of  military  instruction  went  forward  with  zeal  and 
energy. 

The  presence  of  so  many  troops  in  one  great  encampment,  the 
crowded  condition  of  the  barracks,  the  inexperience  of  the  soldiers  in 
their  first  encounter  with  exposure  and  hardship,  the  inclemency  of 
the  winter  months,  and  the  inability  of  the  department  to  do  all  that 
was  required,  occasioned  a  large  amount  of  sickness  among  the  dif 
ferent  regiments.  The  most  prevalent  diseases  were  measles,  pneu. 
monia,  typhoid  fever,  and  diarrhea.  In  one  instance,  it  happened  that 
three  hundred,  in  a  single  regiment  of  cavalry,  were  sick,  mostly 
taken  down  with  measles.  In  another,  the  surgeon  reported  one 
thousand  out  of  thirteen  hundred  men,  suffering  from  coughs  and 


14 

colds.  The  barracks  being  rough  buildings,  with  many  open  cracks, 
and  floors  without  any  space  beneath,  were  far  from  comfortable,  and 
the  regimental  hospitals  were  not  well  warmed,  nor  kept  at  an  even 
temperature,  nor  properly  ventilated.  The  consequence  was  that  many 
of  the  measle  patients  were  afterwards  attacked  with  pneumonia,  and 
died.  The  small-pox  also  broke  out,  and  the  hospital  established  on 
Duncan's  Island,  (opposite  the  arsenal,  in  the  Mississippi  river,)  for 
this  class  of  patients,  was  filled  and  required  additional  accommoda 
tions. 

During  the  months  of  December  and  January,  the  number  of  sick 
and  wounded  in  all  the  hospitals  of  Saint  Louis  and  vicinity  had 
reached  over  2,000,  and  the  labors  of  the  Sanitary  Commission  were 
greatly  increased.  Meetings  were  held  every  few  days ;  frequent 
inspections  were  made  of  all  the  hospitals  and  camps ;  reports  were 
prepared  and  submitted  to  the  commanding  general;  improvements 
were  introduced;  and  supplies  were  forwarded  wherever  needed. 

Besides  the  hospitals  and  camps  in  and  around  Saint  Louis,  there 
were  large  bodies  of  troops  at  Kolla,  the  terminus  of  the  south-west 
branch  of  the  Pacific  railroad,  a  point  of  great  strategic  importance, 
and  at  Tipton  and  Sedalia,  two  other  important  points,  and  at  Ironton, 
the  southern  terminus  of  the  Iron  Mountain  railroad,  and  at  Jefferson 
City,  the  capital  of  the  State,  where  they  were  encamped  for  the  winter. 
At  these  places  there  was  a  large  amount  of  sickness  and  great  mor 
tality.  The  tents  and  huts  in  which  the  soldiers  had  gone  into  win 
ter  quarters,  were  poorly  ventilated ;  the  hospitals  were  generally  log 
buildings,  very  much  crowded,  badly  ventilated,  and  yet  allowing  the 
entrance  of  draughts  of  cold  air,  having  also  bad  floors,  through  which 
the  dampness  ascended  from  the  ground.  The  soldiers  were  not  yet  in 
ured  to  hardship,  and  were  inexperienced  in  taking  proper  care  of 
themselves,  and  in  attending  to  sanitary  and  police  regulations,  and 
the  consequence  was  a  melancholy  state  of  disease  and  death  at 
those  military  posts.  The  writer  of  this  sketch  has  a  sad  remern- 


16 

brance  of  the  new-made  graves  at  Holla,  which  he  found  there  in  the 
spring  of  1862,  where  so  many  of  the  Iowa,  and  Illinois  and  Missouri 
troops  spent  the  fall  and  early  part  of  winter  before  they  went  011 
their  victorious  march,  under  General  Curtis,  through  Springfield  to 
Pea  Ridge,  recovering  the  ground  relinquished  by  Gen.  Hunter,  after 
the  removal  of  Fremont,  and  driving  the  rebels  from  Missouri  beyond 
the  Boston  Mountains. 

But  before  this  march  was  undertaken,  and  while  the  troops  lay 
in  their  winter  encampments,  the  demands  for  sanitary  stores  were 
incessant,  and  the  supply  was  always  equal  to  the  emergency.  From 
regimental  surgeons  there  was  a  constant  application  for  additional 
medicines  beyond  the  allowance  afforded  by  the  Medical  Depart 
ment.  The  old  medical  supply  table  was  found  utterly  inadequate 
to  the  emergency.  Expectorants  and  other  important  remedies  were 
in  constant  demand,  and  large  additions  were  furnished  by  the 
Sanitary  Commission.  The  request  was  equally  urgent  for  hospital 
clothing  and  delicate  food  for  the  sick.  Large  issues  were  made 
of  blankets,  sheets,  pillows,  pillow  slips,  comforters,  slippers-,  socks, 
wrappers,  shirts,  drawers,  bandages,  lint,  and  supplies  of  farina,  jellies, 
canned  and  dried  fruits,  stimulants,  &c.  Surgeons  came  into  the 
Sanitary  Rooms  personally  to  present  their  requests,  and  voluntary 
agents  from  Holla,  Jefferson  City,  Tipton,  Sedalia,  and  Ironton  al  so 
came,  and  represented  the  condition  of  the  .hospitals  at  those  posts, 
to  all  of  which  liberal  responses  were  made,  goods  forwarded,  visits 
made  in  person  by  the  President  and  members  of  the  Commission, 
and  members  of  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society,  and  every  thing 
done  that  was  possible  to  alleviate  suffering  and  diminish  disease. 

In  these  labors  the  "Western  Commission  received  the  hearty  and 
cordial  support  of  Major  General  Halleck,  the  new  commander  of  the 
Western  Department,  and  was  often  favored  with  the  presence  at 
its  meetings  of  his  Chief  of  Staff,  Brigadier  General  George  W. 
Cullum,  U.  S.  A.,  whose  experience  and  excellent  suggestions  were 
of  great  value. 


16 

Up  to  this  period,  January,  1862,  the  Commission  had  received 
over  live  hundred  and  twenty-five  boxes  of  goods,  and  distributed 
over  fifteen  thousand  articles,  consisting  of  hospital  clothing,  and 
delicate  preparations  of  food  for  the  sick,  besides  aiding  to  furnish 
many  of  the  general  hospitals  and  supplying1  the  deficiencies  of 
medicine  to  the  regiments. 

The  work  of  the  Commission  during  the  months  of  December 
and  January  had  consisted  largely  in  the  visitation  and  inspection  of 
the  camps  and  hospitals  in  and  around  Saint  Louis,  in  efforts  for 
their  improvement,  in  the  reception  and  distribution  of  sanitary 
stores,  in  the  employment  of  female  nurses,  and  in  correspondence 
with  the  military  authorities  and  the  friends  of  the  Union  cause 
in  different  parts  of  the  country. 

In  the  enlargement  of  its  work  it  became  necessary  to  procure 
additional  store  room  for  goods,  and  to  employ  a  Secretary.  For  a 
period  of  three  months  this  position  was  filled  by  Kev.  J.  G.  For- 
man,  of  Alton,  111.,  who  resigned  it  to  enter  upon  his  duties  as 
Chaplain  of  the  3d  Missouri  volunteers,  and  Mr.  L.  B.  Ripley  suc 
ceeded  him  for  several  months,  when  he  also  resigned  and  became 
the  Quartermaster  of  the  33d  Missouri  volunteers.  In  May,  1863, 
Kev.  Mr.  Forman  again  became  permanently  Secretary  of  the  Com 
mission. 

In  February,  1862,  the  small  room  in  the  Fifth  Street  Hospital 
was  vacated  for  the  larger  rooms,  No.  10,  North  Fifth  Street,  still 
occupied  by  the  Commission. 

In  the  month  of  December  the  excellent  Medical  Director,  Sur 
geon  De  Camp,  with  whom  the  Commission  had  labored  in  estab 
lishing  and  fitting  up  the  new  military  hospitals,  was  superseded 
by  Dr.  J.  J.  B.  Wright,  U.  S.  A.,  and  it  was  some  time  before 
the  relations  of  the  Commission  became  entirely  harmonious  with 
this  officer.  Like  many  of  the  old  army  surgeons  he  was  sensi 
tive  of  any  imaginary  interference  with  the  Medical  Department, 


17 

considered  it  fully  competent  to  manage  every  thing  relating  to  the 
health  of  the  army,  and  had  an  evident  dislike  of  sanitary  commis 
sions,  and  a  disposition  to  decline  all  aid  from  this  source.  He 
was  in  the  habit  of  remarking  that  the  old  army  had  never  re 
ceived  any  such  assistance,  and  that  he  saw  no  reason  why  the 
volunteers  should  have  this  partiality  shown  to  them.  But  the 
Sanitary  Commission  showed  no  partialities,  and  all  soldiers  of  the 
United  States,  whether  regulars  or  volunteers,  were  treated  by  it 
precisely  alike.  The  prejudice  existing  in  the  minds  of  the  surgeons 
of  the  regular  army  towards  the  Sanitary  Commissions  and  the 
surgeons  of  the  volunteer  forces  has  been  frequently  manifested,  and 
is  to  be  greatly  deplored,  preventing  harmony  of  action  and  result 
ing  in  much  injury  to  the  service. 

In  the  present  instance  there  was  great  complaint  from  the  surgeons 
of  the  volunteer  regiments  of  the  deficiency  of  the  medical  supply  table, 
and  constant  applications  were  made  to  the  Commission  for  additional 
medicines.  The  regimental  surgeons  stated  that  they  could  not  get 
their  requisitions  answered  at  the  medical  purveyor's  office;  that  the 
articles  they  most  needed  were  stricken  oft',  the  quantities  reduced 
in  others,  and  that  their  patients  could  not  be  properly  treated  and 
were  dying  for  want  of  proper  medicines.  The  difficulty  was  repre 
sented  to  Maj.  Gen.  Hallcck  by  the  Commission,  and  he  issued  an 
order  on  the  Medical  Department  to  increase  its  allowances,  which 
order  the  Medical  Director  refused  to  comply  with.  The  matter  was 
referred  by  Gen.  Halleck  to  "Washington,  and  the  result  was  that  in 
the  end  the  medical  supply  table  for  regiments  in  the  field  was  con 
siderably  enlarged.  The  relations  of  the  Commission  afterwards 
became  more  harmonious  with  Medical  Director  Wright,  as  he  found 
its  services  to  be  really  useful  and  necessary;  but,  although  invited,  he 
never  attended  its  meetings,  and  always  maintained  a  distant  and 
merely  official  intercourse  with  its  members. 

While  the  Commission  was  thus  engaged  the  loyal  and  patriotic 


18 

women  of  the  city  were  not  less  active,  in  works  of  love  for  the  sick 
and  wounded,  and  in  expressions  of  encouragement  and  sympathy  for 
the  soldiers  in  the  field.  In  them  the  Commission  found  most  ener 
getic  and  faithful  co-workers.  At  the  rooms  of  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid 
and  of  the  Fremont  Relief  Societies,  they  met  daily  and  cut  out  hospital 
garments,  employed  sewing  machines  in  the  making  of  them,  gave 
occupation  and  assistance  to  soldiers'  wives  and  families,  received 
and  distributed  sanitary  stores,  visited  the  sick,  carrying  with  them 
delicately  prepared  food  and  cordials,  good  religious  books,  and  other 
reading  matter  to  cheer  and  comfort  them,  conversed  at  their  bedsides, 
gave  them  consolation  and  sympathy,  and  in  many  instances  gave  hope 
in  Christ  and  confidence  in  God  and  heaven  to  the  departing  spirit. 
The  labors  thus  cheerfully  performed  will  not  only  find  an  honorable 
record  on  earth,  but  are  already  registered  in  heaven. 

It  would  be  a  grateful  task  to  the  writer  to  name  many  of  those 
whom  he  often  met  in  these  visitations  of  mercy  in  the  hospitals,  but 
the  fear  of  wounding  by  giving  publicity  to  deeds  that  were  not  done 
to  secure  the  world's  applauses,  and  making  omissions  that  would 
seem  like  an  unjust  discrimination,  induces  him  to  refrain  from  the 
attempt.  Some  of  them  were  the  wives  of  our  best  and  most  loyal 
citizens,  persons  of  wealth,  culture  and  refinement,  who  used  to  sit 
for  hours  by  the  bed-side  of  the  sick  and  wounded,  fanning  the 
fevered  brow,  reading  from  sonic  good  book,  and  speaking  so  hope, 
fully,  that  their  gentle  influence  was  always  visible  in  its  effects  upon 
the  countenances  of  those  who  were  the  objects  of  their  tender  soli 
citude  and  care.  In  one  instance,  a  youth,  hardly  yet  more  than  a 
boy,  who  had  been  often  visited,  as  his  spirit  was  sinking  away  from 
earth,  asked  one  of  these  goodly  women  to  kiss  him  for  his  mother; 
and  the  farewell  kiss  was  given,  and  the  spirit  of  the  boy  departed, 
leaving  the  smile  of  peace  on  his  fair  young  face,  which  his  own 
dear  mother  could  never  kiss  again. 

Among  those  who  thus  passed  from  room  to  room  through  the  hos- 


19 

pitals,  giving  to  one  a  testament,  to  another  a  soldier's  prayer-book, 
to  a  third  a  volume  of  pleasant  reading,  accompanied  always  by  an 
expression  of  friendly  interest  and  sympathy,  two  sisters  from  Phil 
adelphia  are  warmly  remembered,  who  came  all  the  way  to  Saint 
Louis,  and  spent  the  winter  in  these  holy  ministries  of  love,  whose 
names,  like  the  true  sisters  of  humanity  of  our  own  city,  I  leave  un- 
mentioned  here,  feeling  assured  that  they  are  all  recorded  in  the 
Lamb's  Book  of  Life,  and  written  on  the  tablet  of  many  a  soldier's 
heart. 

The  following  lines,  written  by  a  private  soldier,  addressed  to  one 
who  had  thus  ministered  to  him  in  sickness,  are  the  fit  expression  of 
what  was  often  conveyed  in  the  pleased  and  grateful  countenance 
of  many  a  sick  and  dying  soldier  to  the  saintly  souls  of  those  who 
came  to  bless  and  comfort  them  in  their  hours  of  pain  and  lan 
guishing  : 

"  From  old  Saint  Paul  'till  now, 

Of  honorable  women,  not  a  few 

Have  left  their  golden  ease  in  love  to  do 

The  saintly  work  which  Christ-like  hearts  pursue. 

"And  such  an  one  art  thou!    God's  fair  apostle, 
Bearing  His  love  in  war's  horrific  train  : 
Thy  blessed  feet  follow  its  ghastly  pain  — 
And  misery,  and  death,  without  disdain. 

"  To  one  borne  from  the  sullen  battle's  roar, 
Dearer  the  greeting  of  thy  gentle  eyes, 
"When  he,  aweary,  torn  and  bleeding  lies. 
Than  all  the  glory  that  the  victors  prize ! 

"  When  peace  shall  come,  and  homes  shall  smile  again, 

A  thousand  soldier-hearts  in  northern  climes, 

Shall  tell  their  little  children  in  their  rhymes, 

Of  the  sweet  saints  who  blessed  the  old  war  times." 


20 

The  employment  of  female  nurses,  and  their  assignment  to  duty  in 
the  hospitals,  was  another  important  service  rendered  by  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  commission — a  delicate  trust — and  one  attended  with 
many  difficulties.  The  example  of  Florence  Nightingale  and  her  corps 
of  female  nurses  in  the  Crimea,  and  the  patriotic  sympathies  of  the 
women  of  America  with  their  brothers  in  arms,  led  large  numbers  of 
them  to  offer  themselves  for  this  service.  The  natural  superiority  of 
women,  as  nurses,  was  felt  by  all,  and  the  government,  therefore, 
determined  to  make  room  for  a  certain  proportion  of  female  nurses 
in  the  hospitals.  Miss  D.  L.  Dix,  a  lady  widely  and  favorably  known 
by  her  humanitary  labors  for  prisoners  and  the  insane,  was  appointed 
"  Superintendent  of  Women  Nurses,'7  to  determine  upon  their  qualifi 
cations,  and  grant  certificates ;  and  only  those  who  had  received  such 
certificates,  either  from  her  or  her  agents,  were  to  be  employed  by 
the  surgeons  in  charge  of  general  hospitals.  The  President  of  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission  was  made  the  agent  of  Miss  Dix  for  the 
Western  Department,  and  on  him  the  duty  devolved  of  receiving  all 
applications  for  this  branch  of  the  service,  determining  the  qualifica 
tions  of  the  applicants,  granting  the  certificates  of  appointment,  and 
assigning  them  to  duty  in  the  hospitals,  on  the  request  of  the  sur 
geons  in  charge  for  the  number  required. 

The  qualifications  of  women  nurses  were,  that  the  applicants  should 
be  of  suitable  age,  (from  25  to  50  years,)  that  they  should  be  per 
sons  in  good  health,  with  sound  constitutions,  capable  of  bearing 
fatigue;  that  they  should  be  free  from  levity  and  frivolity,  of  an 
earnest  but  cheerful  spirit;  that  they  should  dress  in  plain  colors, 
and  in  a  manner  convenient  for  their  work;  that  they  should  be  per 
sons  of  good  education ;  and,  that  they  should  be  recommended  by 
at  least  two  responsible  persons,  (their  clergyman  and  physician  being 
preferred,)  as  to  their  fitness  for  this  service. 

At  a  later  period  Surgeon  General  Wm.  A.  Hammond  issued  an  order 
regulating  the  number  of  women  nurses  to  be  employed  in  the  general 


'Jl 

hospitals  to  one  for  every  twenty  beds,  afterwards  modified  to  one  for 
every  thirty  beds,  and  requiring  that  no  nurses  should  be  employed  with 
out  the  certificate  of  Miss  Dix,  or  her  agents,  except  on  emergencies. 

Under  these  regulations  a  large  number  of  women  nurses  were 
employed  in  the  hospitals  of  the  Western  Department,  and  were 
allowed  a  compensation  of  $12  per  month  and  transportation  from 
their  place  of  residence,  and  to  it  again  on  their  being  relieved 
from  duty,  with  quarters  and  a  ration  (or  board)  in  the  hospitals. 
The  full  number  allowed  was  seldom  called  for  by  the  surgeons, 
and  in  some  of  the  more  distant  hospitals  the  regulations  were 
not  always  complied  with,  the  surgeons  in  charge  often  employing 
persons  selected  by  themselves,  and  not  always  such  as  would  have 
been  approved.  This  practice  has  recently  been  prevented  by  an 
order  from  the  War  Department,  prohibiting  the  payment  of  all  who 
have  not  received  the  proper  certificates  of  approval  from  Miss 
Dix,  or  from  those  acting  with  her  authority. 

The  nurses  commissioned  by  the  President  of  the  Western  Sanitary 
Commission  have  generally  been  such  as  to  do  honor  to  the  service, 
and  by  their  devotion  to  the  sick  and  wounded  soldier,  their  attention 
to  his  diet,  their  oversight  of  his  welfare,  their  watchings  by  his  bed 
side,  their  kindly  presence  and  cheering  influence,  they  have  often 
turned  the  balance  when  poised  between  life  and  death,  and  saved 
many  a  soldier  and  hero  to  his  country  and  his  friends. 

The  number  employed  in  the  hospitals  of  the  Western  Depart 
ment  up  to  the  present  date,  (May,  1864,)  holding  their  certificates 
from  the  President  of  the  Western  Commission,  is  two  hundred  and 
seventy-three.*  A  few  instances  of  unworthiness  have  occurred,  and 

*  In  giving  this  account  of  women  nurses  it  is  proper  to  state  that  an  order  was  issued 
from  the  Medical  Department  in  October,  1803,  directing  that  certificates  should  be  granted 
to  those  nux-ses  who  had  been  for  some  time  in  the  service,  on  the  recommendation  of  the 
surgeons  in  charge.  Under  this  order  about  one  hundred  certificates  were  sent  by  mail  in 
answer  to  such  recommendations.  It  has  been  since  ascertained  that  some  of  those  for 
whom  certificates  were  thus  obtained  were  cooks  and  laundresses,  the  surgeons  in  these 
cases  taking  the  responsibility  as  to  the  character  of  those  whom  they  recommended. 


some  have  failed  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  situation,  but  gen 
erally  they  have  been  persons  of  intelligence, /good  education,  and  a 
credit  to  humanity,  the  noblest  types  "  of  good,  heroic  womanhood." 
Many  of  them  have  left  homes  of  comfort  and  refinement,  and  the 
pleasant  associations  of  honored  friends  and  kindred,  to  engage  in 
this  work  of  self-sacrifice  ;  some  have  been  closely  related  to  the 
best  and  noblest  families  in  the  nation,  and  left  all  to  minister  in 
hospitals  for  the  sake  of  those  who  have  fought  and  bled  in  the 
sacred  cause  of  human  liberty.  Others  again,  have  laid  down  their 
lives  in  this  holy  service,  dying  of  disease  incurred  in  the  infected 
air  of  the  hospital,  and  passing  onward  with  our  departed  heroes 
and  martyrs  to  that  higher  life  where  the  sounds  of  war  and  con 
flict  are  hushed  in  eternal  peace. 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  BATTLE  OF  FORT  DONELSON — ACTIVITY  OF  THE  WESTERN  SANITARY  COMMISSION 
— STEAMERS  EMPLOYED  TO  BRING  THE  WOUNDED  TO  THE  SAINT  Louis  HOSPITALS — 
A  DELEGATION  FROM  THE  COMMISSION  AND  THE  LADIES'  UNION  AID  SOCIETY 

RETURN  WITH  A  LOAD  OF  THE  WOUNDED— ATTENTIONS  TO  THE  SlCK— THE  FIRST 
SUGGESTION  OF  HOSPITAL  STEAMERS— THE  WESTERN  SANITARY  COMMISSION  IMME 
DIATELY  ACTED  ON  THE  SUGGESTION— THE  "  ClTY  OF  LOUISIANA"  FITTED  UP  FOR 
THIS  SERVICE— FIRST  TRIP  TO  ISLAND  No .  10— VALUE  AND  USEFULNESS  OF  HOSPITAL 

STEAMERS  PROVED  BY  SUBSEQUENT  EXPERIENCE— ASSISTANT  SURGEON-GENERAL  R. 
C.  WOOD— GREAT  DEMAND  FOR  SURGEONS  AND  NURSES— JAMES  M.  BARNARD,  ESQ., 
OF  BOSTON— BATTLE  OF  PEA  RIDGE— DESTITUTE  CONDITION  OF  THE  SICK  AND 
WOUNDED — THE  HOSPITALS  AT  CASSVILLE — A.  W.  PLATTENBURG  SENT  BY  THE 
COMMISSION  WITH  SANITARY  STORES— INTERESTING  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  JOURNEY  AND 
OF  THE  GOOD  ACCOMPLISHED  BY  IT— THE  AGENCY  CONTINUED— His  FUTURE  LABORS 
—TESTIMONIALS  OF  HIS  USEFULNESS— HEROISM  OF  MRS.  PHELPS  AT  PEA  RIDGE. 


On  the  13th,  14th,  and  loth  of  February,  1862,  was  fought  the 
battle  of  Fort  Doiielson,  on  the  Cumberland  River  in,  West  Ten 
nessee,  in  which  the  United  States  forces  under  General  U.  S. 
Grant,  were  victorious,  compelling  the  surrender  of  the  Fort,  and 
taking-  10,000  prisoners  of  war  under  the  rebel  Brig.  Gen.  S.  B. 
Buckner.  In  this  battle  there  were  231  killed  and  1,007  wounded 
of  the  Confederate  forces,  and  the  loss  on  our  own  side  was  much 
greater,  as  the  rebels  fought  within  their  entrenchments  and  our 
troops  in  the  open  field,  where  for  three  nights  they  lay  upon  the 
bare  ground  in  a  driving  storm  of  snow  and  sleet,  and  renewed 
the  battle  from  day  to  day,  till  victory  crowned  their  arms. 

On  the  news  of  this  battle  reaching  St.  Louis  the  Western  Sani 
tary  Commission  made  every  preparation  to  assist  the  Medical 
Department  in  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded.  A  member  of 
the  Commission,  accompanied  by  a  delegation  of  physicians,  nurses, 
and  members  of  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society,  and  by  Surgeon  J. 
II.  Grove,  U.  S.  V.,  proceeded  immediately  to  Cairo  by  rail,  and 
thence  by  steamer  to  Paducah,  Ky.,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumber- 


24 

land  river,  with  sanitary  stores,  to  which  place  the  wounded  had 
been  brought,  where  they  were  most  courteously  received  by  Medi 
cal  Director  Simmons,  who  placed  the  steamer  "Ben  Franklin"  at 
their  service,  and  ordered  a  load  of  the  wounded  to  be  put  in  their 
charge  to  bring  to  St.  Louis. 

While  the  boat  was  being  made  ready,  the  ladies  of  the  delega 
tion  went  on  board  the  various  steamers  at  the  landing  and  gave 
their  kind  attentions  to  the  wounded,  assisting  to  wash  them,  and 
to  promote  their  comfort  in  every  possible  way. 

The  following  account  of  the  return  trip  is  from  the  report  made 
to  the  Commission  at  the  time  :  "  Furnished  with  the  order  of 
the  Medical  Director  we  visited  the  various  hospitals  in  Paducah, 
and  selected  as  many  of  the  wounded  as  we  could  safely  and  com 
fortably  transport  to  St.  Louis.  It  required  twenty-four  hours  to 
get  155  patients  on  board. 

"As  soon  as  we  got  under  way,  the  ladies  set  to  work  to  wash  and 
cleanse,  and  comb  the  hair  of  the  sick  and  wounded.  Warm  water, 
soap,  sponge,  and  flesh  brushes  were  brought  in  requisition.  Not  only 
the  face  and  neck,  but  the  hands  and  feet,  and  other  parts  of  the  body 
had  to  undergo  this  purifying  process.  After  this,  the  surgeons,  Drs. 
Grove,  Alleyne,  and  myself,  proceeded  to  dress  the  wounds  and  other 
severe  injuries  of  our  patients,  in  which  again  we  were  materially 
aided  by  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  our  delegation.  This  process 
required  from  three  to  four  hours  daily. 

"  The  following  was  the  daily  routine :  Early  in  the  morning  the  ladies 
attended  to  the  ablutions  and  cleansing  of  the  patients.  Breakfast  was 
then  served  them,  after  which,  a  careful  surgical  and  medical  examina 
tion  was  gone  through.  Then  came  dinner,  when  they  were  waited  on 
by  all  on  board  who  could  be  spared  from  duty.  After  dinner,  they 
were  read  to,  and  entertained  by  conversation.  At  supper  again  they 
had  the  attentions  of  all  on  board.  After  which  we  had  singing  of 
sacred  or  national  hymns,  reading  the  Scriptures,  and  prayer," 


25 

On  arriving  at  St.  Louis  the  wounded  were  at  once  taken  in  charge 
by  medical  officers,  acting  under  the  Medical  Director,  and  transferred 
to  the  various  hospitals. 

From  this  time,  general  hospitals  were  established  at  Paducah  and 
Mound  City,  and  the  Western  Commission  directed  a  portion  of  its 
supplies  to  those  points,  and  many  sanitary  stores  were  also  sent 
directly  from  the  towns  and  cities  of  Illinois,  accompanied  by  friends 
and  relatives,  and  other  humane  persons,  who  went  to  tender  their 
services  as  nurses,  or  in  any  capacity  in  which  they  could  be  useful. 

It  was  during  the  trip  of  the  St.  Louis  Sanitary  delegation  to  Padu 
cah,  that  the  idea  of  hospital  steamers  was  suggested  by  Dr.  Simmons, 
the  Medical  Director,  and  embodied  in  the  report  to  the  Western  Com 
mission.  He  thought  it  would  be  wise  to  procure  several  good  sized 
steamers  and  to  fit  them  up  as  floating  hospitals,  properly  organized 
with  a  chief  surgeon,  assistant  surgeons,  stewards,  nurses,  medical  and 
sanitary  stores,  to  accompany  the  progress  of  our  arms  along  the  west 
ern  rivers,  and  to  be  always  ready  to  receive  the  sick  and  wounded, 
on  the  occurrence  of  great  battles,  and  convey  them  to  the  general 
hospitals,  already  provided  farther  north.  The  trip  of  the  "Ben. 
Franklin  "  was  itself  a  recommendation  of  the  plan,  and  it  was  speedily 
acted  upon  by  the  Commission. 

At  the  same  meeting  at  which  the  above  report  and  suggestions  were 
made,  Rev.  "Wm.  G.  Eliot,  D.D.,  was  requested  to  address  a  letter  to 
Maj.  Gen.  Halleck,  setting  forth  the  proposed  plan  for  one  or  more 
Floating  Hospitals,  pledging  that  the  Commission,  if  the  suggestion 
met  with  his  approbation,  would  take  the  whole  care  and  labor  of 
carrying  it  into  execution. 

The  plan  was  highly  approved  by  the  General  commanding,  and  an 
order  was  issued  to  the  chief  quartermaster  to  purchase  a  steamer 
suited  to  the  purpose,  who,  in  connection  with  the  Commission,  finally 
selected  and  chartered  the  "  City  of  Louisiana."  On  the  20th  of 
March  she  had  been  thoroughly  furnished  as  a  hospital  boat,  the  Gov- 


26 

ernmeiit  supplying  her  with  beds  and  commissary  stores,  and  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission  completing  her  outfit  at  an  expense 
of  $3000.  In  addition  to  this  the  Commission  also  provided  the  assis 
tant  surgeons,  the  apothecary,  the  male  and  female  nurses,  and  fur 
nished  a  full  supply  of  sanitary  stores.  Her  first  trip  was  made  to  Island 
No.  10,  to  await  the  conflict  there,  but  the  place  was  taken  at  last  by 
a  flank  movement  of  Gen.  Pope  on  New  Madrid,  without  loss  of  life, 
and  there  was  no  occasion  for  her  service  at  that  time.  But  it  was 
not  long  till  ample  opportunity  of  usefulness  occurred  at  Pittsburg 
Landing.  On  this  first  trip  the  President  of  the  Western  Sanitary 
Commission  went  also,  sharing  in  the  general  expectation  of  a  terrible 
battle  at  Island  No.  10. 

After  the  battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing  this  boat  conveyed  3,389 
patients  to  northern  hospitals,  and  was  in  the  spring  of  1863,  purchased 
by  the  Government,  remodeled  for  a  permanent  floating  hospital,  with 
accommodations  for  five  hundred  beds,  and  named  the  UR.  C.  Wood," 
in  honor  of  the  Assistant  Surgeon  General  of  the  United  States  Army, 
who  was  the  first  of  the  leading  surgeons  of  the  regular  army  to  give 
his  sanction  and  approval  to  the  plan  of  a  Sanitary  Commission,  and 
has  always  given  his  influence,  encouragement,  and  aid  to  its  beneficent 
labors,  counselled  with  its  members,  and  carried  into  effect,  in  his 
department,  every  valuable  suggestion  it  has  made. 

The  "JR.  C.  Wood"  is  a  vessel  of  great  speed,  and  of  large  dimen 
sions.  Her  state  rooms  have  been  removed,  and  the  whole  upper  deck 
made  into  one  large  ward,  with  abundant  light  admitted,  and  having 
excellent  means  of  ventilation,  with  ample  provision  of  bath  rooms, 
hot  and  cold  water,  cooking  apartments,  nurses'  rooms,  medical  dis 
pensary,  laundry,  and  many  other  conveniences.  With  all  the  requi 
sites  of  a  good  hospital  on  shore,  it  has  the  advantage  of  the  fresh 
breezes  and  currents  of  air  that  are  common  to  the  river ;  and  in  the 
heat  of  summer,  by  moving  on  the  stream,  a  delightful  ventilation  and 
refreshing  breeze  are  obtained,  passing  through  the  sick  ward,  and 


27 

cooling-  the  fevered  brows  and  pulses  of  the  patients  on  board.  Dur 
ing  the  summer  of  1863  this  boat  made  constant  trips  from  the  army 
at  Vicksburg,  bringing:  the  wounded  and  sick  to  the  St.  Louis  hos 
pitals.  During  her  first  period  of  service  she  was  in  charge  of  Dr. 
Wagener,  and  is  now  in  charge  of  Surgeon  Thomas  F.  Azpell,  U.  S.  V. 
The  great  utility  and  valuable  service  of  floating  hospitals  was  soon 
established  and  led  to  the  fitting  out  of  several  others  by  the  Gov 
ernment. 

During  the  month  of  February,  1802,  the  "Western  Commission  dis 
tributed  13,250  articles  of  hospital  clothing,  food  for  the  sick,  bottles 
of  cordials  and  stimulants,  packages  of  bandages  and  lint,  crutches, 
back-rests  for  supporting  the  head  and  shoulders,  splints,  towels,  ban 
dages,  socks,  slippers,  books,  and  packages  of  reading  matter ;  and  the 
labors  of  its  members  were  constant  and  unceasing,  frequently  occu 
pying  the  night  as  well  as  the  day. 

The  demand  for  nurses  was  at  this  time  very  great.  From  the  Mound 
City  Hospital,  near  Cairo,  111.,  in  charge  of  Surgeon  E,  C.  Franklin, 
U.  S.  V.,  there  was  a  request  at  one  time  for  forty  nurses,  of  which 
only  fourteen  could  be  immediately  sent.  Several  surgeons  were  pro- 
procured  from  Boston,  Mass.,  to  come  out  and  enter  the  hospital  ser 
vice,  in  which  the  commission  had  the  valuable  aid  and  recommenda 
tions  of  James  M.  Barnard,  Esq.,  of  that  city,  who  has,  in  a  thousand 
ways,  assisted  in  its  work,  aided  its  contributions  and  given  it  his 
best  influence  and  counsel. 

On  the  7th  and  8th  of  March,  1862,  another  great  battle  was  fought 
at  Pea  Ridge,  Ark.,  in  which  our  forces  under  Maj.  Gen.  S.  E.  Cur 
tis,  were  victorious  over  a  force  of  the  enemy,  three  times  our  num 
ber,  commanded  by  Generals  Van  Dorii,  Price,  McCulloch  and  Mcln- 
tosh.  Our  killed  and  wounded  numbered  one  thousand;  the  loss  of 
the  enemy  was  still  greater.  The  great  distance  of  this  battle-field 
from  St.  Louis,  being  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  beyond  Rolla,  the 
terminus  of  the  South- West  Branch  of  the  Pacific  railroad,  and  the 


28 

roads  being  of  the  very  worst  description,  through  a  country  only 
halt-civilized,  mountainous,  without  bridges,  and  without  hotel  accom 
modations,  stripped  by  the  passage  of  armies  of  forage  for  teams 
and  of  food  for  men,  subject  to  raids  and  murders  by  guerrilla  bands, 
it  was  utterly  impossible  to  bring  the  wounded  of  Gen.  Curtis'  army 
to  the  hospitals  of  St.  Louis.  And  what  was  still  worse,  the  march 
through  the  south-west  had  been  undertaken  in  the  winter,  over  bad 
roads,  with  deficient  transportation,  and  the  medical  department  was 
most  miserably  provided  with  the  means  of  taking  care  of  so  many 
wounded.  The  surgeons  were  without  hospital  clothing,  without 
stimulants,  so  necessary  in  surgical  operations,  without  bedding  for 
the  wounded,  and  their  supply  of  medicines  was  exceedingly  limited. 

The  desperate  character  of  the  battle  had  suddenly  thrown  upon 
their  hands  nearly  a  thousand  badly  wounded  men,  in  a  country  thinly 
settled  by  a  people  living  mostly  in  log  houses,  and  having  few  of  the 
necessaries  of  life.  The  court  house  at  Cassville,  and  all  the  principal 
dwellings — there  was  not  a  church  in  the  place — were  filled,  and 
many  wounded  were  also  housed  in  the  same  way  at  Keitsville,  so 
that  on  approaching  these  villages  every  other  dwelling  seemed  to  be  a 
hospital,  having  a  red  flag  floating  over  it. 

In  a  few  instances,  wounded  officers  were  conveyed  in  ambulances 
all  the  way  to  Holla,  and  taken  home  to  their  friends;  and  those  of 
our  brave  troops  who  were  less  severely  wounded  were  transported 
to  Springfield,  Mo.,  w^here  the  churches  and  public  buildings  were 
converted  into  hospitals  for  their  use.  Passing  onward  from  Holla  to 
the  Army  of  the  South-west,  soon  after  the  battle,  with  the  Lyon 
regiment,  to  reinforce  Gen.  Curtis,  it  was  a  painful  scene  to  witness 
Avounded  men  lying  in  the  bottom  of  open  wagons  on  beds  of  straw, 
jolted  over  the  rough  ground,  on  their  way  to  friends  living  along 
the  route;  for  'among  the  regiments  that  fought  most  bravely  and 
suffered  most  severely,  was  Phelps'  Missouri  six  months  volunteers, 
composed  of  the  sons  of  loyal  families,  who  had  lived  and  suffered  in 


29 

South-west  Missouri  from  the  persecutions  of  the  rebels,  many  of 
them  having  been  driven  to  Holla  as  a  place  of  refuge  and  enlisted 
there,  and  such  of  them  as  now  were  wounded  were  being  conveyed 
to  their  own  homes,  or  to  Springfield,  where  better  hospital  accom 
modations  existed.  In  this  city,  as  we  marched  through,  we  found 
the  hospital  buildings  filled  with  the  wounded  from  Pea  Eidge;  and 
at  Cassville,  when  we  reached  there,  it  was  a  touching  sight  to  be 
hold,  as  we  did,  in  one  room,  a  row  of  young  men,  in  the  freshness 
of  youth,  lying  on  beds,  each  having  lost  a  leg,  while  in  other 
buildings  were  those  who  had  received  all  manner  of  hurts,  wounds 
from  pieces  of  shell,  bullet  wounds,  arms  torn  and  afterwards  ampu 
tated,  and  legs  taken  off,  and  all  bound  up,  awaiting  the  dreadful 
issue  of  life  or  death. 

But  it  was  with  peculiar  satisfaction  we  found  that  the  stores  of 
the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  had  been  received  there  some  days 
before  our  arrival,  and  that  the  wounded  men  were  lying  in  clean 
beds,  and  clothed  with  shirts  and  drawers,  instead  of  the  blood 
stained  garments  in  which  they  came  from  the  battle-field.  The  large 
supplies,  forwarded  by  the  commission,  had  reached  the  medical 
director,  Dr.  Otterson,  and  had  been  put  to  immediate  use;  his  sup 
ply  of  stimulants  had  been  largely  increased,  and  his  sick  and 
wounded  were  in  a  comfortable  condition . 

On  the  news  of  this  battle  reaching  St.  Louis,  the  members  of  the 
Sanitaiy  Commission  worked  day  and  night,  packing  up  sanitary 
stores,  and  sent  forward  Mr.  A.  "W.  Platteiiburg  in  charge  of  hospital 
supplies,  on  the  llth  of  March,  who  was  followed  immediately  after 
by  another  supply  of  as  many  more.  In  this  undertaking,  Maj.  Gen. 
Halleck  furnished  every  facility  in  his  power,  giving  to  Mr.  Platteii 
burg  an  order,  over  his  own  signature,  addressed  "  to  all  quartermas 
ters  and  other  officers  between  St.  Louis  and  Sugar  Creek,  Ark.,'' 
directing  them  "to  furnish  every  reasonable  facility  in  their  *  power, 
to  forward,  with  all  possible  dispatch,  consistent  with  safety,  the 


bearer,  Mr.  A.  "W.  Plattenburg,  and  the  hospital  stores  under  his  care, 
destined  for  the  wounded  in  the  late  battle  at  Sugar  Springs  "—after 
wards  named  Pea  Ridge. 

In  his  report  of  his  journey  and  arrival  at  Cassville  with  his 
stores  Mr.  Plattenburg  says  : 

;;  I  arrived  at  Holla,  Mo.,  at  four  o'clock,  r.  M.,  of  the  same  day 
and  was  furnished  with  a  horse  and  transportation  for  sanitary 
stores.  The  first  day  we  proceeded  fifteen  miles  over  a  road  that 
was  as  bad  as  it  could  be.  The  day  following  I  rode  forty  miles 
and  stopped  at  night  "with  a  Union  man,  who  had  been  robbed  of 
almost  everything  movable.  He  had  two  sons  in  Phelps'  Missouri 
regiment,  one  of  whom  had  just  died  in  the  Springfield  hospital. 
Oil  Sunday  morning  I  reached  Springfield  at  10  A.  M.  The  Quar 
termaster  was  ordered  to  furnish  transportation  by  the  first  train. 
The  wounded  from  the  recent  battle  were  coming  in,  as  •well  as 
some  rebel  prisoners.  I  visited  the  post  hospital,  accompanied  by 
Dr.  Ebert.  There  were  one  hundred  sick  and  wounded,  mostly 
from  Pea  Ridge.  I  examined  the  hospital  very  carefully  ;  found 
a  part  of  the  men  on  the  floor,  destitute  of  all  comforts.  They 
had  neither  bed  sacks,  blankets  nor  sheets,  not  even  tin  cups  or  a 
teapot.  They  were,  however,  very  cheerful.  Dr.  Ebert,  a  very 
kind  and  attentive  surgeon,  requested  me  to  procure  a  wardmaster 
and  matron.  I  made  a  requisition  upon  your  Commission  for  them, 
as  also  for  a  large  number  of  supplies  for  the  hospital,  enough  to 
make  all  the  patients  as  comfortable  as  possible. 

"  The  train  with  your  stores  reached  Springfield  on  Wednesday 
following,  and  on  Friday  were  sent  forward.  Transportation  was 

so    insufficient  that    this    delay    was   unavoidable.       The    next    day, 
/ 

25th,  I  arrived  at  Cassville.  Here  I  found  two  large  tents,  six 
buildings,  ( among  them  the  court  house, )  and  the  tavern,  used 
as  hospitals.  The  patients  were  lying  on  the  floors,  with  a  little 
straw  under  them,  and  with  knapsacks  or  blankets  under  their 


31 

heads  for  pillows.  They  had  no  comforts  of  any  kind,  no  change 
of  clothes,  but  were  lying  in  the  clothes  they  fought  in,  stiff 
and  dirty  with  blood  and  soil.  There  were  four  hundred  federal 
wounded  here.  There  was  a  great  deficiency  of  nurses,  detailed 
men  not  answering  the  purpose  well.  Their  sheets  had  been 
torn  up  for  bandages,  and  until  Dr.  Otterson  reached  there  with 
his  supplies  they  were  poorly  furnished  with  medicines.  Stimu 
lants  were  very  much  needed  to  sustain  the  sinking  men,  but  none 
were  to  be  had.  There  were  no  brooms  to  sw^eep  with  and  no 
mops  to  wash  the  rooms.  Your  stores  were  here  turned  over  to 
the  brigade  surgeon,  who  opened  and  distributed  them  to  the  dif 
ferent  hospitals.  Never  was  a  provision  train  more  joyously  greeted 
by  starving  men  than  was  this  ample  supply  of  hospital  stores  by 
these  sick  and  suffering  soldiers. 

"  On  the  next  day  I  went  forward  to  the  army,  reporting  my 
self  to  Gen.  Curtis,  introduced  by  your  letters.  I  'found  him  in 
an  ordinary  tent,  without  furniture,  except  a  stool  and  a  small  cross- 
legged  pine  table.  The  floor  was  covered  with  straw,  and  a  roll 
of  blankets  constituted  his  bedding.  Being  invited,  I  dined  with 
him  upon  plain  army  fare.  I  then  proceeded  to  Gen.  Davis'  posi 
tion,  within  one  and  a  half  miles  of  Elk  Horn  Tavern,  where  the 
heaviest  fighting*  was  done.  I  visited  the  battle-ground,  and  was 
filled  with  astonishment  when  I  saw  the  strength  of  the  positions 
out  of  wThich  our  gallant  little  army  had  driven  the  great  force 
opposed  to  it.  Meeting  two  rebel  surgeons  one  of  them  said  : 
'We  are  Texans  ;  our  army  has  treated  us  shamefully  ;  they  stam 
peded,  and  left  us  here  with  our  sick  and  wounded  men,  and,  I 
will  tell  you,  sir,  that  for  two  days  we  had  nothing  to  give  our 
poor  fellows  but  parched  corn  and  water.  Every  federal  officer  and 
man  has  treated  us  like  gentlemen,  and  Gen.  Curtis  told  me  that 
so  long  as  he  had  a  loaf  of  bread,  we  should  have  half  it.'  This 


32 

was  tlic    field   where    McCulloch    and   Mclntosh    were    killed    while 
endeavoring  to  flank  the  Peoria  batter)'. 

"I  visited  with  these  surgeons  the  hospitals  at  Piiieville.  No 
provision  whatever  had  been  made  by  Price,  and  our  scanty  sup 
plies  had  been  shared  with  them.  For  twenty-live  miles  around 
every  house  was  a  rebel  hospital.  We  also  had  three  federal  hospi 
tals  at  Piiieville,  but  not  to  exceed  forty  patients.  At  this  point 
there  was  a  total  absence  of  stimulants,  and  men  were  dying  for 
want  of  them.  In  one  place  are  forty  graves  of  the  Iowa  Third 
Cavalry.  All  the  dead  of  both  armies  were  buried. 

"  On  my  return  I  called  on  Gen.  Curtis  at  Keitsville,  and  promised 
to  urge  forward  the  remaining  supplies,  which  would  be  sufficient 
to  meet  all  immediate  wants.  They  were  duly  forwarded,  and 
reached  the  command  in  good  time.  At  Cassville  I  found  that  Dr. 
McGugin,  of  Iowa,  who  had  been  working  very  faithfully  among 
our  suffering  men,  was  completely  exhausted.  At  Springfield  I 
found  additional  supplies,  which  had  been  forwarded  by  your  coin- 
mission.  I  was  assured  that  they  would  go  forward  on  the  fol 
lowing  morning,  and  they  were  rolled  out  to  load  up  before  I  left. 
I  am  fully  convinced  that  no  army  was  (so  far  as  provision 
for  the  wounded  was  concerned,)  ever  sent  into  the  field  in  such 
destitute  condition  as  ours,  except  the  one  that  it  fought  and  con 
quered.  Our  preparations  were  wholly  inadequate  ;  the  enemy  had. 
apparently,  made  none  at  all. 

"The  labors  of  your  commission  are  most  highly  appreciated  by 
both  officers  and  men.  But  for  the  promptness  with  which  your 
supplies  were  sent  forward,  for  which  you  are  greatly  indebted  to 
the  Commanding  General,  great  suffering  must  have  unavoidably 
occurred.  Could  the  kind  and  sympathizing  men  and  women  of 
our  loyal  States,  who  place  these  abundant  contributions  at  your 
command,  but  see  and  realize  the  thrill  of  joy  with  which  they 
were  received  by  the  suffering  ones,  who  have  so  bravely  and  gladly 


33 

shed  their  blood  to  restore  to  us  a  united  nation,  and  to  vindicate 
the  majesty  of  our  trampled  laws,  they  would  rejoice  that  they 
had  made  the  slight  sacrifice  required  to  achieve  so  great  a  good, 
and  seek,  1  am  sure,  to  enable  you  to  anticipate  rather  than  to 
supply,  such  wants  in  future. 

"Many  of  these  poor  sufferers  have  left  distant  homes  and  loving 
friends  ;  have  been  accustomed  to  receive  the  tenderest  cares  and 
the  most  watchful  sympathy  during  the  slightest  indisposition.  Now 
they  meet  death  and  grievous  wounds,  and  wasting  sickness,  in  a 
remote,  semi-hostile  and  thinly  settled  country,  surrounded  generally 
by  comparative  strangers.  And  tliis  great  sacrifice  is  most  cheer 
fully  made.  Xo  word  of  repining  or  regret  did  I  hear,  but  every 
where  our  gallant  men  were  sustained  by  an  abiding  faith  that 
they  had  suffered  and  would  die,  if  need  be,  in  a  most  just  and 
righteous  cause." 

Mr.  Plattenburg's  efficiency  and  usefulness  were  so  satisfactory  to 
the  commission,  that  he  was  employed  from  that  time  as  an  agent  to 
continue  with  the  Army  of  the  South-west,  which  he  did  till  the 
spring  of  1863,  accompanying  it  through  all  its  toilsome  march  from 
Cassville  to  Forsyth,  returning  to  St.  Louis  for  sanitary  stores,  going 
back  to  it  again  overland,  and  arriving  with  it  at  Helena  on  the 
following  July. 

In  March,  1863,  he  proceeded  to  the  vicinity  of  Vicksburg,  with 
the  army  of  Gen.  Grant,  remained  there  in  charge  of  a  sanitary 
boat  loaded  with  stores,  and,  with  his  assistants,  distributed  to  the 
army  during  the  seige  of  Vicksburg,  and  after  its  capture,  until  the 
Fall  of  1863,  when  he  was  sent  to  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  with 
Gen.  Sherman's  15th  army  corps,  and  established  an  agency  at  Hunts- 
ville,  Ala.,  remaining  in  charge  of  it  till  April,  1864,  when  he  re 
signed  his  position  to  attend  to  interests  of  his  own.  During  his 
two  years  of  faithful  service,  he  gained  the  esteem  of  the  officers 
of  the  army,  received  many  testimonials  of  his  great  efficiency  and 
c 


34 

usefulness,  and  always  enjoyed  the  full  confidence  and  support  of 
the  Commission. 

In  December,  1862,  the  surgeons  of  the  Army  of  the  South-west 
united  in  a  testimonial  in  which  they  say:  "  The  agent  of  the 
Commission,  Mr.  A.  "W.  Plattenburg  has  always  cheerfully  furnished 
for  the  use  of  the  sick  and  the  wounded,  every  thing*  in  his  pos 
session.  Joining  this  army  just  after  the  battle  of  Pea  llidge,  he 
came  with  his  abundant  stores  most  providentially,  and  through  all 
dangers,  trials,  and  vicissitudes  he  has  remained  constantly  with  us, 
and  ever  faithful  to  his  mission." 

In  a  letter  of  Maj.  Gen.  Curtis,  dated  March  1st,  1863,  he  says  : 
"Among  the  pleasant  and  grateful  recollections  of  the  campaign 
of  the  South-west  was  the  arrival  of  Mr.  A.  "\V.  Plattenburg,  the 
agent  of  this  noble  Commission,  just  after  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge 
(where  the  wounded  were  so  unprovided  for),  with  his  abundant 
sanitary  stores  and  supplies  of  stimulants.  In  the  destitute  condi 
tion  of  our  hospitals  it  seemed  like  a  providential  interposition  in 
our  behalf." 

Among  the  incidents  at  the  battle  of  Pea  llidge  worthy  of  men 
tion  in  this  connection,  were  the  labors  of  Mrs.  Phelps,  w^ho  had 
accompanied  her  husband,  Col.  John  S.  Phelps,  with  his  regiment  to 
the  battle-field.  While  the  battle  was  yet  raging,  this  heroic  woman 
assisted  in  the  care  of  the  wounded  ;  tore  up  her  own  garments 
for  bandages,  dressed  their  wounds,  cooked  food  and  made  soup 
and  broth  for  them  to  eat  with  her  own  hands,  remaining  with 
them  as  long  as  there  was  any  thing  she  could  do,  and  giving 
not  only  words  but  deeds  of  substantial  kindness  and  sympathy. 
And  wherever  the  cause  of  our  national  Union  and  its  perils  shall 
hereafter  be  known,  "  this  that  this  woman  hath  done  shall  be  re 
membered  as  a  memorial  of  her." 


CHAPTER    IV  . 

SOLDIERS  HOME  ESTABLISHED  AT  ST.  Louis — PREMIUMS  AWARDED  TO  THE  STEWARDS 
AND  WARDMASTERS  OF  THE  BEST  HOSPITALS,  AND  TO  THE  MOST  FAITHFUL  NURSES — 
THE  BATTLE  OF  PITTSBURG  LANDING — LARGE  NUMBER  OF  WOUNDED — ADDITIONAL 
HOSPITAL  STEAMERS  FURNISHED — VOLUNTEER  SURGEONS  AND  NURSES — ADDITIONAL 
HOSPITALS  FITTED  up  AT  SAINT  Louis— DEMAND  FOR  SURGEONS— NUMBER  OF  SICK 
AND  WOUNDED  IN  THE  ST.  Louis  HOSPITALS — REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSION. 


On  the  13th  of  March,  1862,  a  Soldier's  Home  for  discharged  and 
ftirloughed  soldiers  passing  through  the  city,  was  established  by  the 
Western  Commission,  at  29  South  Fourth  Street,  St.  Louis,  capable 
of  accommodating  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  soldiers  daily.  It  was 
placed  in  charge  of  Rev.  Charles  Peabody  as  Superintendent,  with 
Miss  A.  L.  Ostram  for  Matron,  and  has  afforded  many  a  poor, 
penniless,  and  invalid  soldier  food  and  lodgings,  saved  others  from 
the  sharpers  that  lie  in  wait  to  impose  on  the  unwary,  from  ex 
orbitant  hotel  charges,  and  from  the  bad  associations  and  influences 
of  the  lower  class  of  hotels  ;  it  has  been  an  asylum  to  many  who 
left  the  hospitals  to  go  home,  not  yet  fully  recovered — some  of 
them  returning  to  their  families  to  die — where  on  their  way  they 
could  enjoy  a  few  days  of  quiet  rest,  have  the  aid  of  the  Super 
intendent  in  getting  their  pay  and  bounty,  and  the  kind  attentions 
of  the  matron  to  nurse  them  and  bind  up  their  wounds. 

During  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  St. 
Louis  entertained  with  meals  and  lodgings,  twelve  thousand  four 
hundred  and  ten  (12,410)  soldier  guests,  most  of  them  invalids  par 
tially  restored  to  health,  passing  on  furlough  to  their  homes,  or 
returning  to  their  regiments. 

During  its  second  year  to  March  12th,  1864,  it  has  entertained 
eight  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirty-six  (8,436)  enlisted  men, 


36 

making  a  total  of  twenty  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-six 
(20,846)  soldiers  who  have  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  this  Home  in 
a  period  of  two  years.  And  yet  compared  with  four  others  after 
wards  established  by  the  Commission  at  Columbus,  Ky.,  Memphis, 
Tenn.,  Helena,  Ark.,  and  Vicksburg,  Mississippi,  the  average  num 
ber  entertained  has  been  much  less  than  at  those  places.  This  has 
been  partly  owing  to  its  smaller  accommodations  and  partly  to  its 
greater  distance  from  the  seat  of  war,  as  our  armies  obtained  pos 
session  of  the  States  bordering  on  the  Mississippi  Iliver. 

Of  the  20,846  soldiers  who  have  been  the  guests  of  this  Home 
5,576  have  been  from  Illinois,  4,615  from  Iowa,  4,520  from  Mis 
souri,  1,795  from  Wisconsin,  1,221  from  Indiana,  420  from  Michigan, 
668  from  Ohio,  342  from  Minnesota,  136  from  Kentucky,  359  from 
Kansas,  82  from  Arkansas,  64  from  the  Marine  Brigade,  111  from 
the  U.  S.  Regulars,  73  from  Nebraska,  576  from  other  States,  and 
288  from  the  Invalid  Corps. 

The  number  of  meals  furnished  to  soldiers  for  the  two  years  ending 
March  12th,  1864,  was  eighty-five  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  (85,992),  and  the  number  of  lodgings  for  the  same  period  was 
twenty-four  thousand  two  hundred  and  ninety,  (24,290).  In  110  case 
has  any  charge  been  made  to  any  of  the  guests.  Besides  these,  many 
near  relatives,  fathers,  mothers,  and  wives  of  sick  or  furloughed  sol 
diers,  accompanying  them,  have  received  the  hospitality  of  the  Home, 
of  which  no  account  has  been  made. 

The  expense  incurred  by  the  Commission  in  maintaining  this  institu 
tion  is  about  $3,000  a  year,  and  the  value  of  the  rations  and  fuel  fur 
nished  by  the  Government  is  about  $2,000  more. 

The  conduct  of  the  soldiers  while  staying  at  the  Home  has  generally 
been  respectful,  and  such  as  would  become  good  citizens.  The  hos 
pitality  and  kind  attention  given  have  been  almost  uniformly  received 
with  gratitude.  Many  on  leaving  have  come  to  the  office  and  expressed 
their  thanks  to  the  superintendent,  and  often,  although  informed  that 


37 

every  thing-  they  had  received  was  freely  given,  have  insisted  on 
bestowing  something  from  their  hard  earnings  to  help  sustain  the 
institution.  On  being  shown  to  their  rooms  at  night  it  has  been  com 
mon  to  hear  such  expressions  as  these:  "  Oh,  Jim,  see  here,  this  is  a 
nice  fat  pillow,  as  sure  as  you  are  born,  the  first  I  have  seen  for  six 
months,"  to  which  another  would  reply,  "Yes,  Sam,  these  are  pillows, 
sure  enough,  and  this  is  a  clean  soft  bed.  I  tell  you  what,  this  makes 
me  think  of  home.'' 

On  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  and  New-Years  days  it  has  been 
customary  to  provide  some  fowls  and  other  extras ;  and  at  all  times, 
butter,  vegetables,  milk,  dried  and  canned  fruits  and  tomatoes  have 
been  furnished,  in  addition  to  the  army  ration.  Very  often  expressions 
are  heard  at  the  table,  or  after  meals,  indicating-  the  grateful  appre 
ciation  of  the  soldier,  who  has  been  for  months  confined  to  hard  bread, 
salt  meat,  and  coffee,  without  rnilk,  011  finding  so  wholesome  and 
palatable  a  change  of  diet.  "AVell,"  says  one,  "I  haven't  had  so  good 
a  meal  for  two  years."  "  Yes,"  answers  another,  "  this  is  pretty  good 
fare;  if  we  could  only  have  such  all  the  time  we'd  get  along  first  rate. 
But  I  expect  Uncle  Sam  does  the  best  he  can  for  us.  It's  hard  getting 
anything  down  among  them  Rebs.  The  sooner  we  can  clean  them 
out  and  come  home  the  better." 

A  reading  room  is  provided  at  this  as  well  as  the  other  Homes,  con 
taining  several  hundred  volumes,  and  the  daily  papers  and  several 
religious  journals  are  also  furnished,  so  that  the  soldier  is  able  to  pass 
liis  time  pleasantly  and  profitabl)r  during  his  short  stay.  He  is  thus 
kept  from  a  desire  to  roam  through  the  city  in  search  of  amusement, 
and  goes  on  his  way  refreshed  in  body  and  mind. 

In  the  winter  of  1863,  Miss  Ostram,  the  first  matron,  after  nearly 
a  year  of  faithful  service,  was  transferred  to  the  Home  at  Memphis, 
and  the  situation  remained  vacant,  for  a  considerable  period,  during 
which  Mr.  John  Gibbon  acted  as  clerk  and  steward,  which  position 
he  filled  w,ith  great  fidelity.  On  his  retiring,  about  six  months  ago, 


38 

it  became  necessary  to  fill  the   situation  of  matron,  when  Mrs.  J.  E. 
Rice,  now  performing  the  duties  with  satisfaction,  was  appointed, 

The  institution  has  been  conducted  with  eminent  success  by  Mr.  Pea- 
body,  the  Superintendent,  who  has  shown  great  executive  ability  in 
its  management,  whose  courtesy  and  kindness  to  the  soldier  have  given 
him  a  place  in  their  grateful  remembrance,  and  whose  intercourse 
with  the  military  authorities,  and  the  members  of  the  commission,  has 
always  been  such  as  to  win  their  esteem  and  confidence. 

In  his  last  annual  report  to  the  Commission  (March  12th,  1864)  Mr. 
Peabody  very  justly  remarks  upon  the  benefits  to  the  country  arising 
from  sanitary  labors,  and  from  such  institutions  as  the  Soldiers'  Home : 

"Observing  from  the  position  I  have  occupied,  the  wrecks  left 
behind  the  wake  of  armies,  the  conviction  forces  itself  upon  me 
that  the  labors  of  the  Sanitary  Commission,  by  the  immense  supple 
mental  aid  it  has  rendered  in  furnishing  sanitary  supplies  and  estab 
lishing  Soldiers'  Homes,  have  contributed  not  a  little  to  saving  men 
for  the  service,  as  well  as  rescuing  them  from  death.  In  prosecuting 
their  wars  the  ancients  had  no  hospital  trains  or  medical  staff  in  atten 
dance  on  their  armies.  In  their  military  movements  the  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers  were  left  behind  to  die.  In  these  times,  and  in  our 
unhappy  struggle  with  a  giant  rebellion,  the  soldiers  are  tenderly 
cared  for,  not  only  by  the  medical  department  of  the  army,  but  by  thou 
sands  of  patriotic  hands,  working  systematically,  through  thoroughly 
organized  channels,  which  often  reach  far  beyond  the  routine  of  the 
service.  The  future  historian  of  this  great  struggle  will  be  able  to 
show  that  the  very  small  per  cent  of  loss  among  our  armies,  as  com 
pared  with  that  of  modem  European  wars  is  to  be  attributed  largely 
to  what  the  people  themselves  have  done  through  organized  voluntary 
labors  in  behalf  of  the  soldiers. 

"  Having  aided,  under  your  auspices,  in  the  organization  of  the 
Soldiers'  Home,  established  in  this  city,  and  watched  over  it  daily 
for  two  years,  I  cannot  but  express  the  conviction  that  for  the  amount 


39 

of  money  expended,  this  enterprise  has  brought  back  in  substantial 
and  lasting  benefits  to  the  soldiers  quite  as  much  as  any  of  the  noble 
undertakings  in  which  your  Commission  has  engaged.  It  has  cheered 
the  disheartened  soldier  in  his  toilsome  duties.  It  has  saved  multitudes 
from  imposition  and  exactions,  and  has  aided  them  in  securing  prompt 
attention  to  their  just  rights.  By  the  substantial  comforts  and  kind 
attentions  which  it  has  afforded  it  has  served  to  impress  on  the  minds 
of  those  who  fight  our  battles  the  fact  that  their  toils  are  remembered 
and  their  heroic  efforts  appreciated.  Standing  in  the  face  of  death  on 
the  bloody  field  the  recollection  of  such  kind  hospitality  and  attention 
has  served  to  strengthen  their  arms  and  exalt  their  courage  in  the 
deadly  conflict.  By  lending  a  helping  hand  to  the  weak  and  faltering 
as  they  return  homewards  from  their  exposures,  it  has  served  to  assure 
their  friends  and  the  loyal  public  that  the  opinion,  too  current  through 
the  land,  that  the  common  soldier  is  always  trod  upon  and  abused,  is 
a  mistake.  It  has  afforded  kind  nursing  to  hundreds  of  sick  and  suffer 
ing,  and  by  a  little  care  and  attention,  has  saved  many  valuable  lives. 
It  has  also  afforded  the  opportunity  of  impressing  moral  and  religious 
truth  on  the  minds  of  the  soldiers,  and  of  ministering  consolation  to 
some  who  were  just  entering  upon  their  last  great  conflict.  In  view 
of  the  good  it  has  already  accomplished,  and  its  capacity  for  future 
usefulness  to  the  soldiers  and  the  service,  it  is  warmly  commended  to 
your  special  consideration." 

In  the  early  part  of  April,  1862,  the  "Western  Sanitary  Commission, 
wishing  to  encourage  and  stimulate  a  patriotic  emulation  among  the 
stewards,  ward  masters,  and  nurses  in  the  hospitals  to  excel  in  their 
several  spheres  of  duty,  and  thereby  promote  the  welfare  of  the  sick 
and  wounded,  by  securing  the  best  possible  attention,  and  the  most 
favorable  conditions  for  recovery,  offered  a  series  of  premiums  as  fol 
lows,  to  be  paid  in  gold  on  the  4th  day  of  the  following  July : 

1.    To  the   head   steward  of  whichever  one  of  the  large  hospitals 


40 

shall  have  been  kept  in  the  best  condition,  all  tilings  considered,  and 
in  which  the  comfort  of  the  patients  shall  have  been  uniformly  best 
cared  for,  in  every  way,  through  a  term  of  three  months,  the  sum  of 

TWENTY-FIVE  DOLLARS. 

2.  To  the  head  steward  of  the  best  of  the  smaller  hospitals,  as  above 
estimated,  the  sum  of  FIFTEEN  DOLLARS. 

3.  To  the  best  assistant  steward  in  every  large  hospital,  who  shall 
be  the  most  punctual,  attentive  and  diligent  in  the  performance  of  his 
duties,  the   sum  of  TEN  DOLLARS. 

4.  To  the  best  assistant  steward,  estimated  as  above,  in  all  the  small 
hospitals,  the  sum  ot  EIGHT  DOLLARS. 

o.  To  the  best  ward  master  in  each  of  the  large  hospitals,  whose 
ward  shall  have  been  uniformly  kept  in  the  best  and  most  perfect 
order,  as  to  cleanliness  of  beds  and  bedding,  the  comfort  of  the  patients, 
and  in  all  other  respects,  the  sum  of  TEN  DOLLARS. 

6.  To  the  best  ward  master  in  each  of  the  small  hospitals,  estimated 
as  above,  the  sum  of  EIGHT  DOLLARS. 

7.  To  the  best  twenty  nurses,  in  all  the  hospitals,  who  shall  remain 
in  service  through  the  three  months,  and  who  shall  prove  themselves 
the  most  kind,  faithful  and    attentive,   in  the  discharge  of  all  their 
duties  to  the  sick,  FIVE  DOLLARS  EACH. 

8.  To  the  best  culinary  department,  in  all  the  hospitals — that  is,  for 
the  best  and  cleanest  kitchen,  the  best  and  most  wholesome  cookery, 
with  the  smallest  w^aste,  the  sum  of  TWENTY-FIVE  DOLLARS,  the  same 
to  be  divided  between  the  head  cook  and  assistants,  in  the  hospital  to 
\vliich  the  prize  shall  be  awarded,  in  such  proportions  as  may  seem  just. 

9.  To  the  second  best  kitchen,  etc.,  estimated  as  above,  the  sum  of 

FIFTEEN  DOLLARS. 

10.  To  every  female  nurse  who  shall  remain  in  the  service  for  three 
months,   and  shall  have  given  full  satisfaction,  a  certificate  shall  be 
awarded,  with  special  vote  of  thanks. 


41 

11.  To  the  best  hospital,  all  things  considered,  a  public  expression 
of  thanks  shall  be  given,  with  the  approval  of  the  Medical  Director 
and  of  the  General  commanding. 

To  secure  the  just  award  of  these  premiums  and  testimonials,  the 
Sanitary  Commission  will  make  weekly,  or  more  frequent,  visits  of 
inspection  to  every  hospital  under  direction  of  the  Head  Surgeon,  and 
in  consultation  with  him,  and  a  careful  record  of  each  visit  and  its 
results  will  be  kept. 

A  monthly  inspection  will  also  be  made,  Avith  the  same  view,  by 
order  of  the  General  commanding. 

In  offering  these  premiums,  the  "  Western  Sanitary  Commission"  are 
actuated  by  a  desire  to  assist  the  medical  staff  in  making  the  military 
hospitals  of  the  "  Department  of  the  Mississippi,"  the  most  perfect  in 
the  United  States. 

This  undertaking  had  the  sanction  of  the  Commanding  General  of  the 
Department,  and  of  the  Medical  Director,  and  its  influence  was  highly 
beneficial  in  stimulating  the  best  endeavors  of  those  who  filled  the 
stewardships  in  the  hospitals,  and  had  the  immediate  care  of  the  sick 
and  wounded — not  so  much  for  the  sake  of  the  pecuniary  rewards 
as  from  the  consciousness  that  their  labors  were  carefully  noticed  and 
appreciated,  which  gave  an  additional  spur  to  their  humane  interest 
in  the  soldier,  and  excited  a  laudable  and  proper  ambition  to  receive 
the  award  of  well  doing. 

The  persons  to  whom  these  awards  were  finally  made  were  as  fol 
lows  :  To  Mr.  George  Thomas,  chief  steward  of  the  Fifth  Street  Hos 
pital,  $25;  to  Mr.  Kleuber,  chief  steward  of  Camp  Benton  Hospital, 
$15:  to  Mr.  Matthews,  assistant  steward  in  the  Fifth  Street  Hospital, 
$10;  to  Messrs.  James  McCrea,  George  Miran,  and  Henry  Craw- 
shaw,  ward  masters  in  the  Fifth  Street  Hospital  each  $10;  to  Messrs. 
Loar,  Henry  Sanders,  and  James  Larkin,  nurses  in  the  Fifth  Street 
Hospital,  and  to  Mr.  Charles  Tising,  nurse  in  the  Good  Samaritan 
Hospital,  $5 ;  to  the  chief  cook  and  assistants  in  the  culinary  depart- 


42 

ment  of  the  New  House  of  Refuge  Hospital,  $25;  to  the  chief  cook 
and  assistants  in  the  culinary  department  of  the  Camp  Benton  Hos 
pital,  $15;  and  to  the  following  female  nurses,  with  certificates  and 
a  vote  of  thanks,  $5  each:  Mrs.  Morris,  Mrs.  Ballard,  Mrs.  Parker, 
Mrs.  Gibson,  Mrs.  Aldrich,  Mrs.  Honghton,  Mrs.  Brooks,  Mrs.  Ferris, 
Mrs.  Campbell,  Mrs.  Plummer,  Miss  McNair,  Mrs.  Colfax,  Mrs.  Bar 
ton,  Miss  Johnson,  Miss  Clark,  Miss  Cullom,  Miss  Ostram,  Mrs.  Starr, 
Mrs.  Freeman. 

On  the  6th  and  7th  of  April,  1862,  occurred  the  great  battle  of 
Pittsburg  Landing,  on  the  Tennessee  river,  between  the  Union  forces 
under  General  Grant,  and  the  rebel  forces  under  General  A.  S.  John 
son  and  General  Beauregard.  In  this  battle,  the  loss  to  the  Union 
army  was  1,735  killed,  and  7,882  wounded;  and  to  the  rebels,  1,728 
killed,  and  8,012  wounded,  many  of  whom  fell  into  our  hands. 

The  news  of  this  terrible  battle  was  brought  to  St.  Louis  by  tele 
graph,  and  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck  immediately  addressed  a  note  to  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission,  requesting  its  co-operation  with  the 
medical  and  quartermaster's  departments  in  sending  steamers,  prop 
erly  fitted  up,  furnished  with  medical  and  sanitary  supplies,  and  a 
requisite  force  of  surgeons,  wound-dressers  and  nurses  to  take  care 
of  the  wounded,  and  return  with  them  to  St.  Louis ;  also  in  fitting 
up  additional  hospital  accommodations  in  this  city  to  receive  them. 

The  following  note  was  received  from  the  Chief  Quartermaster: 

QUARTERMASTER'S  DEPARTMENT,  OFFICE  OK  TRANSPORTATION,  ) 

St.  Louis,  April  10th,  1862.         I 

JAS.  E.  YEATMAN,  Esq., 

President  Western  Sanitary  Commission: 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  have  arranged  with  the  owners  of  the  steamers 
"  Continental"  "  Crescent  City "  and  "Imperial"  to  remain  on  or 
go  to  the  Tennessee  river  for  the  relief  and  use  of  the  sick  and 
wounded.  In  case  you  find  it  necessary  or  desirable,  you  will  please 


43 

direct  either  of  these  boats  to  such  points  as  you  may  deem  best  for 
these  purposes,  and  I  will  settle  for  the  time  they  are  detained  in 
the  service,  on  your  certificate.  These  boats,  so  taken,  are  not  to 
be  interfered  with  while  in  use  for  hospital  purposes. 

Eespectfully, 

LEWIS  B.  PARSONS, 

Capt.  and  A.  Q.  M. 

The  following',  of  the  same  date,  was  also  directed  to  the  captain 
of  the  steamer  "Empress"  from  the  same  source: 

"  You  will  at  once  proceed  to  Pittsburgh  Term.,  unless  otherwise 
ordered  by  James  E.  Yeatman,  Esq.,  President  Western  Sanitary 
Commission,  who  will  accompany  you  on  the  trip.  *  *  You 

will  return  to  this  point  as  soon  as  you  can  consistently  be  dis 
charged  from  the  duty  on  which  you  are  sent,  namely,  for  'hospital 
purposes.' " 

The  hospital  steamer  "  City  of  Louisiana"  arrived  on  the  9th  of 
April  from  Pittsburg  Landing-  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  sick, 
having  left  there  previous  to  the  battle.  On  the  receipt  of  the  in 
telligence  that  a  battle  had  been  fought,  she  returned  the  next  day, 
to  the  scene  of  conflict,  with  additional  sanitary  stores. 

The  steamer  "  I).  A.  January"  which  had  been  purchased  by 
the  Government  for  a  hospital  steamer,  fitted  up  by  the  Western 
Commission,  and  placed  in  charge  of  Surgeon  A.  H.  Hoff,  LT.  S. 
V.,  was  also  sent  to  Pittsburg  Landing.  This  boat  from  the  date 
of  this  battle  to  the  month  of  August,  made  eight  trips,  and  con 
veyed  2,692  patients  from  ports  on  the  Tennessee  and  Lower  Missis 
sippi  rivers  to  northern  hospitals,  mostly  to  the  hospitals  of  Saint 
Louis.  She  has  been  remodeled,  in  accordance  with  plans  of  Sur 
geon  Hoff,  and  continued  in  the  service,  having  rendered  incalcu 
lable  benefits,  accommodating  five  hundred  patients,  and  bringing 
from  Vicksburg,  Helena,  and  elsewhere,  many  thousands  of  sick  and 


44 

wounded  to  St.  Louis  and  affording  them  the  best  possible  treat 
ment  on  the  way. 

On  the  evening  of  the  10th  of  April  the  steamer  "Empress," 
being  furnished  by  the  "Western  Sanitary  Commission  with  a  com 
plete  outfit  of  medical  and  sanitary  stores,  with  a  corps  of  surgeons, 
wound-dressers,  and  nurses,  both  for  herself  and  the  large  and  splen 
did  steamer  "  Imperial,"  (then  on  the  Tennessee  river,)  started  for 
Pittsburg  Landing,  in  charge  of  the  President  of  the  Commission 
(Mr.  Yeatman),  where,  on  her  arrival,  the  outfit  for  the  "Imperial" 
was  transferred  to  that  boat,  and  all  were  loaded  with  the  wounded 
with  as  much  expedition  as  was  possible. 

On  this  expedition  there  accompanied  Mr.  Yeatman  Drs.  Pollak, 
Grove,  Azpell,  May,  Bixby,  and  Barnes,  Surgeon  Grove,  U.  S.  V., 
taking  charge  of  the  "Imperial"  on  arriving  at  Pittsburg,  with 
the  requisite  force  of  assistant  surgeons,  stewards,  wound-dressers, 
nurses,  etc. 

A  delegation  of  noble  women  from  St.  Louis,  members  of  the 
Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society,  also  accompanied  this  expedition  as 
volunteer  nurses,  and  rendered  invaluable  service.  Among  those  now 
remembered  who  thus  gave  their  timely  aid  was  Mrs.  Washington 
King,  Mrs.  Foster,  Mrs.  Perley  Child,  Mrs.  J.  E.  D.  Couzins,  Mrs. 
C.  B.  Fisk,  Mrs.  J.  Crawshaw,  and  Miss  Patrick. 

On  the  return  trip  the  steamer  "Empress"  was  loaded  with  nine 
hundred  wounded  men,  her  guards,  decks,  and  cabins  being  filled,  and 
friend  and  foe  alike  provided  for ;  for  many  wounded  prisoners  fell  into 
our  hands  on  the  second  day  of  the  battle.  The  "Imperial"  also 
returned  loaded  in  a  similar  manner,  and  continued  to  run  for 
several  months  as  a  floating  hospital  in  charge  of  Surgeon  Grove. 
The  "  City  of  Louisiana"  "  D.  A.  January  "  and  the  "  Crescent 
City"  also  returned  with  their  cargoes  of  human  lives,  and  the 
wounded  were  received  into  the  hospitals  of  St.  Louis. 

The   crowded  condition  of  the  hospitals  and  want  of  room  made 


'§ 


45 


it  necessary  that  additional  hospital  accommodations  should  be 
mediately  provided.  The  Western  Sanitary  Commission  proceeded 
at  once  to  procure  two  large  halls  in  Arnot's  and  Thornton's  and 
Pierce's  buildings  on  Chesnut  and  AValnut  streets,  and  furnished 
them  with  beds  and  furniture  and  sanitary  stores,  and  with  the 
requisite  number  of  nurses,  for  the  accommodation  of  three  hun 
dred  and  twenty  sick  and  wounded  men. 

During  the  midst  of  these  labors  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck  telegraphed 
the  Commission  from  Pittsburg  Landing  to  send  twenty  surgeons 
to  that  place  for  duty  there.  Nine  were  procured  and  went  for 
ward  the  same  day,  and  afterwards  an  additional  number. 

On  the  first  of  May  the  Commission  made  a  report  of  its  labors, 
from  which  the  following  particulars  are  selected  as  completing  an 
outline  of  its  history  to  this  date  : 

There  were  then  fifteen  military  hospitals  in  and  about  St.  Louis, 
affording  accommodations  for  for  5,750  patients,  and  a  reserve  was 
constantly  maintained  in  readiness  by  the  Commission  of  250  beds 
in  addition,  making  a  total  of  6,000.  The  number  of  patients  ad 
mitted  to  that  date  was  19,467,  of  whom  1,400  had  died  ;  15,717 
had  been  furloughed,  discharged,  or  returned  to  their  regiments, 
and  3,750  remained.  There  had  been  162  additional  deaths  on  float 
ing  hospitals  in  transit,  at  McDowell's  military  prison,  the  St.  Louis 
Arsenal,  and  at  private  houses.  The  number  of  patients  on  hand 
was  unusually  small,  great  numbers  having  been  furloughed,  in  order 
to  relieve  the  hospitals,  pending  the  expected  battle  at  Corinth. 

The  Commission  had  fitted  four  floating  hospitals,  regularly  em 
ployed  for  the  transportation  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  De 
partment  of  the  Mississippi,  the  "  City  of  Louisiana,"  Dr.  Wagner, 
the  "  D.  A.  January,"  Dr.  Huff,  the  "Imperial,"  Dr.  Grove,  and 
the  "  Empress,"  Dr.  Azpell,  all  very  large  and  fine  steamers,  altered 
and  arranged  for  this  purpose.  They  were  capable  of  transporting 
two  thousand  sick  or  wounded  men,  and  were  fully  provided  with 


46 

experienced  surgeons,  assistant  surgeons,  apothecaries,  stewards, 
dressers,  and  male  and  female  nurses.  They  had  every  conven 
ience  that  experience  could  suggest,  and  were  supplied  with  large 
reserves  of  hospital  clothing,  lint,  bandages,  delicacies,  fruit,  £c., 
that  they  might  be  prepared  to  furnish  temporary  transports  or 
field  hospitals  whenever  and  wherever  needed. 

As  these  boats  were  constantly  plying  between  St.  Louis  and 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  all  probable  battle  fields,  no  better  method 
of  securing  prompt  relief  wherever  needed  could  have  been  devised 
or  desired. 

The  first  two  of  these  boats  remained  permanently  in  the  service, 
to  which  others  were  added  at  a  later  period. 

The  hospital  steamer  "  City  of  Memphis,''  in  charge  of  Surgeon  W. 
D.  Turner,  U.  S.  A.,  had  also  been  supplied  with  hospital  furniture 
and  stores  by  the  Commission. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  floating  hospitals  have  saved  hun 
dreds  of  priceless  lives,  by  transporting  the  sick  and  wounded  promptly 
from  the  field  to  well  regulated  hospitals,  and  by  furnishing  in  transit 
good  surgical  attendance  and  nursing,  and  comfortable  accommo 
dations. 

During  the  eight  months  the  Commission  had  then  existed  it  had 
received  985  cases  of  goods  from  eighteen  States,  viz : 

Massachusetts 223    New  Hampshire 1G 

Illinois 132  i  New  Jersey 11 

Wisconsin 74    Minnesota ." 10 

Rhode  Island 69  ;  Indiana 9 

Pennsylvania 63  j  Connecticut 7 

Missouri 61    Vermont 6 

Iowa 57  |  Maine 5 

New  York 51  i  Delaware 4 

Michigan 40  I  District  of  Columbia 3 

Ohio 12  I  Not  ascertained 137 

Besides  these,  it  had  also  received  large  contributions  in  money 
and  goods  from  the  citizens  of  St.  Louis  and  vicinity,  not  included 
in  the  above  statement,  for  the  reason  that  they  had  been  received 


47 

in  bulk,  in  many  instances  by  the  wagon  load,  and  in  thousands 
of  small  packages. 

The  articles  distributed  by  the  Commission,  to  that  date,  numbered 
166,288,  including  6,813  blankets,  8,065  sheets,  7,034  pillows,  11,545 
pillow-cases,  10,443  towels,  5,249  handkerchiefs,  -21,577  shirts,  11,159 
pair  drawers,  19,519  pair  socks,  4,384  pair  slippers,  1,841  dressing 
gowns,  1,032  articles  of  clothing,  18,196  books  and  pamphlets,  3,084 
pads,  981  bottles  of  domestic  wines,  1,459  cans  jelly,  2,340  pounds 
farina,  1,400  cans  fruit,  and  25,000  miscellaneous  articles,  such  as 
mittens,  games,  crutches,  work  bags,  bed  pans,  spit  cups,  picket  caps, 
pin  cushions,  eye  shades,  slings,  india  rubber  syringes,  isinglass  plas 
ters,  remedies,  etc.  In  addition  to  these  the  Commission  purchased 
large  numbers  of  articles  for  the  complete  outfit  of  the  city  and 
floating  hospitals,  and  for  armies  in  the  field,  embracing  air  and 
water  beds,  washing  machines,  implements  of  various  kinds,  barrels 
of  stimulants,  (of  better  quality  and  in  larger  supply  than  furnished 
by  Government,)  of  eggs  and  chickens,  cases  of  oranges  and  lem 
ons,  hundreds  of  pairs  of  crutches,  invalid  chairs  of  novel  construc 
tion,  bedsteads,  cots,  mattresses,  graduated  back-rests,  stands  or  stools 
for  the  bedside,  sideboards  for  the  proper  security  and  arrangement 
of  medicines,  disinfectants,  splints,  and  innumerable  other  articles. 
Seventy-four  hospitals  had  then  been  supplied.  The  demand  from 
every  quarter  rapidly  increased  and  the  distribution  had  reached 
the  rate  of  17,000  articles  per  week. 

Thus  the  labors  of  the  Commission  were  greatly  increased,  and 
the  work  of  ministering  to  the  sick  and  wounded  went  forward  night 
and  day.  Another  great  battle,  it  was  expected,  would  soon  occur 
at  Corinth,  and  the  hopes  and  anxieties  of  the  loyal  people  of  the 
country  were  raised  to  their  highest  degree  of  intensity.  But  the 
evacuation  of  that  position  by  the  rebel  forces,  and  their  escape 
under  their  arrogant  and  boastful  commander,  General  Beauregard, 
in  the  presence  of  the  powerful  Union  army  that  was  arrayed 


48 

against  them  by  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck,  now  commanding  in  person, 
disappointed  the  public  expectation;  and,  notwithstanding  the  retreat 
of  the  rebels  gave  us  some  of  the  fruits  of  a  decisive  victory,  yet 
they  were  enabled  by  this  movement  to  get  away  without  any  sub 
stantial  loss,  to  go  and  assist  in  the  defense  of  Richmond,  and  to 
transfer  the  contest  to  Virginia,  where  the  great  battles  of  the 
Peninsula  followed  in  the  summer  of  1862.  In  the  West,  it  only 
remained  to  follow  up  our  naval  victories  from  Island  No.  10  to 
Memphis  and  Helena,  and  to  hold  the  ground  already  gained  till 
another  great  campaign  could  be  inaugurated  in  the  fall  of  the  same 
year.  It  now  became  necessary  to  attend  to  the  sick,  occasioned  by 
the  diseases  of  camp  life,  and  the  malaria  of  the  southern  climate, 
to  look  after  the  camps  and  hospitals  in  Arkansas  and  Tennessee, 
and  to  continue  the  supplies  to  the  hospital  steamers  of  the  west 
ern  rivers,  and  to  the  general  hospitals  established  at  various  points 
from  St.  Lonis  to  Helena.  The  labors  of  the  Commission  during 
the  summer  of  1862  will  form  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER   V . 

LETTER  OF  THE  COMMISSION  TO  THE  SURGEON-GENERAL — SCOLLAY'S  DEODORIZING 
BURIAL,  CASE — CAPTURE  OF  FORT  PILLOW  AND  MEMPHIS— OPENING  OF  THE  MISSIS 
SIPPI  RIVER  TO  YICKSBURG  —  FITTING  OUT  THE  NAVAL  HOSPITAL  BOAT  "RED 
ROVER"— ARRIVAL  OF  GEN.  CURTIS'  ARMY  AT  HELENA— ITS  DESTITUTE  CON 
DITION—SICKNESS  OF  THE  ARMY  AT  HELENA  — SANITARY  DEPOT  ESTABLISHED 
THERE — OVERTON  HOSPITAL  AT  MEMPHIS — SlCK  FROM  THE  ARMY  IN  TENNESSEE — 
HOSPITALS  AND  REGIMENTS  SUPPLIED  —  THE  XAVY — LETTER  FROM  COMMODORE 
DAVIS  —  AN  EARNEST  APPEAL  FROM  THE  COMMISSION  —  GENEROUS  RESPONSE  FROM 
NEW  ENGLAND. 


THE  intimate  connection  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission 
with  the  hospitals  of  St.  Louis,  and  of  the  Department  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  and  the  frequent  inspections  made  by  its  members,  had 
given  opportunity  to  observe  defects,  and  to  suggest  remedies. 
Among  the  evils  that  arrested  attention  was  that  of  insufficient  space 
and  air  to  each  patient,  many  of  the  hospitals  being  too  much 
crowded,  hindering  and  preventing  the  recovery  of  the  sick,  espe 
cially  in  cases  of  typhoid  fever,  erysipelas,  and  badly  wounded  men. 

On  the  8th  of  May,  the  Commission  addressed  the  following  com 
munication  to  the  Surgeon-General  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  at  Washing 
ton: 

SAINT  Louis,  May  8th,  1862. 
Dr.  WM.  A.  HAMMOND, 

Surgeon- General  U.S.A.: 

SIR  :  The  Western  Sanitary  Commission  of  the  Department  of  the 
Mississippi,  most  respectfully  suggest  the  importance  and  necessity 
of  some  rule  or  law  regulating  the  amount  of  space  allowed  to  every 
patient  in  hospital.  In  the  absence  of  such  a  rule  great  mistakes 
are  made,  and  in  many  hospitals,  otherwise  well  conducted,  the  beds 
D 


50 

are  so  crowded  together,  and  the  number  of  cubic  feet  of  air  to  each 
patient  is  so  inadequate,  that  fatal  consequences  result. 

The  members  of  the  Commission  having  had  large  opportunities  of 
observation,  confidently  express  the  opinion  that  not  more  than  half 
the  space  necessary  for  the  successful  treatment  of  the  sick,  and 
especially  of  the  wounded  men,  is  usually  allowed  in  the  general 
and  post  hospitals. 

By  actual  measurement  they  find  that  the  average  of  square  feet 
on  the  floor,  allowed  in  some  of  the  best  hospitals  even,  for  typhoid 
and  erysipelas  and  badly  Avounded  patients  is  only  forty  or  fifty 
feet  per  bed,  and  sometimes  less  ;  and  of  cubic  feet  of  air  only 
three  hundred  and  fifty  to  eight  hundred  feet,  little  regard  being 
paid  to  the  height  of  the  rooms  occupied. 

They  believe  that  110  degree  of  cleanliness  or  care,  or  of  professional 
skill  can  remove  the  evil  effects  of  such  over  crowding,  and  that  there 
is  no  way  of  preventing  its  continuance  except  by  positive  regulation. 

In  making  these  suggestions  the  Commission  has  no  design  of 
complaint.  The  hospitals  of  this  department  are  almost  all  well 
conducted  and  the  patients  well  and  skillfully  treated,  and  the  sur 
geons  would  undoubtedly  be  glad  to  have  authority  to  correct  the 
evils  referred  to.  The  near  approach  of  warm  weather  makes  the 
subject  one  of  urgent  importance,  and  it  has  already  become  of 
painful  interest  to  the  Commission,  during  a  recent  thorough  in 
spection  of  hospitals,  containing  over  four  thousand  sick  and  wounded 
men,  many  of  whom  are  seriously  suffering  from  the  causes  named. 

The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  minimum  space  in 
well  ventilated  hospitals  should  be  six  hundred  and  forty  cubic 
feet  for  each  bed,  and  for  typhoid  cases,  erysipelas,  and  severely 
wounded  men,  not  less  than  twelve  hundred  feet.  Larger  space 
would  be  desirable,  but  practical  difficulties  of  various  kinds  fre 
quently  occur  to  make  it  unattainable  consistently  with  the  general 
interests  of  the  service. 


51 

The  Commission  therefore  respectfully  and  earnestly  submit  this 
matter  to  the  consideration  of  the  Surgeon  General,  and  have  the 
honor  to  remain, 

His  obedient  servants, 

JAMES  E.   YEATMAN, 
0.   S.   GREELEY, 
J.   B.   JOHNSOX, 
GEOKGE  PARTRIDGE, 
WM.  G.   ELIOT. 

The  subject  submitted  to  the  Surgeon  General  in  this  letter  re 
ceived  his  favorable  consideration,  and  in  the  hospitals  afterwards 
established  a  sufficient  and  specified  number  of  cubic  feet  of  air 
was  allowed  to  each  bed.  In  the  case  of  the  Lawson  Hospital  on 
Broadway,  the  regulation  has  been  carried  out  very  thoroughly,  and 
the  prescribed  number  of  cubic  feret  of  air  allowed  to  the  beds,  in 
the  several  wards,  is  lettered  over  the  entrance  ;  the  ward  having 
the  largest  space  containing  778  cubic  feet  to  a  bed,  and  the  lowest 
allowance  in  any  ward  being  606  cubic  feet  to  a  bed. 

In  the  spring  of  this  year  a  most  useful  invention  was  brought 
to  the  attention  ol  the  Western  Commission,  designed  to  afford  a 
safer,  cheaper,  and  better  method  of  preserving  the  remains  of 
deceased  persons  without  burial,  for  transportation  to  friends  at  a 
distance,  an  object  greatly  desired  by  those  having  relations  killed 
in  battle,  or  dying  in  the  military  hospitals.  The  invention  bore 
the  name  of  "Dr.  Scollay's  Deodorizing  Coffin  or  Burial  Case," 
and  was  submitted  to  a  series  of  experiments  before  a  committee 
of  the  Commission,  consisting  of  Drs.  S.  Pollak,  Chas.  A.  Pope,  and 
J.  B.  Johnson,  Rev.  M.  Schuyler,  D.  D.,  and  R.  R.  Hazard,  Jr.,  Esq. 
The  burial  case  is  thus  described  in  the  report  of  this  committee: 
"  Taking  the  ordinary  wooden  coffin  he  [Dr.  Scollay]  has  so  im 
proved  it  as  to  make  it  in  all  respects  equal,  and  in  many  superior, 
to  the  iron,  or  any  other  case  now  in  use.  The  coffin  is  made 


52 

effectually  air-tight  by  a  peculiar  match  joint  and  a  coating-  of  ce 
ment,  which  not  only  renders  it  impervious  to  air  and  fluid  under 
ordinary  pressure,  but  must  greatly  preserve  the  wood  from  decay. 
To  preserve  the  coffin  from  rupture  under  the  extraordinary  press 
ure  of  the  gases  arising  from  decomposition^  and  to  render  the 
escape  of  such  gases  impossible,  unless  deodorized,  a  provision  is 
made  which  constitutes  the  principal  feature  of  the  improvement. 
This  consists  of  a  deodorizing  chamber,  placed  inside,  at  the  foot 
of  the  coffin,  of  such  size  and  so  arranged  as  not  to  increase  its 
bulk  or  alter  its  form.  *  *  *  This  chamber  is  so  arranged  and 
divided  that  the  escaping  gases  pass  freely  through  apertures  into 
the  lower  division,  and  thence  into  the  middle  apartment,  which  is 
filled  with  a  deodorizing  chemical  compound.  Through  this  they 
pass  into  the  upper  apartment,  which  is  furnished  with  a  self-adjust 
ing  valve,  which  yields  to  a  moderate  pressure  and  permits  their 
escape.-' 

The  experiments  of  the  committee  proved  that  bodies  may  be  pre 
served  in  these  burial  cases  without  becoming  offensive  for  many 
months,  not  the  slightest  smell  being  perceived,  even  in  the  warmest 
weather — in  one  case  after  150  days.  In  another  instance,  in  which 
antiseptic  agents  were  used  before  encasing,  it  was  observed,  after 
nearly  two  months,  that  decomposition  had  been  very  slight,  and  the 
body  was  quite  natural  in  its  appearance,  and  in  a  recognizable  con 
dition. 

The  committee  concluded  their  report  as  follows :  "  The  cases  can  be 
furnished  at  a  trifling  advance  upon  the  ordinary  wooden  coffin  in  gen 
eral  use.  They  are  light  for  handling  and  transportation,  not  liable  to 
explosion,  and  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  from  the  tests  already  pre 
sented  that  bodies  may  be  kept  in  them  from  thirty  to  fifty  days,  and 
perhaps  longer,  without  becoming  offensive,  and  the  necessity  of  imme 
diate  burial  and  a  disagreeable  interment  be  avoided." 

The   subsequent  use   of  these  deodorizing  coffins,  by  Mr.  Smithers, 


53 

government  undertaker  of  this  city,  has  more  than  established  the 
correctness  of  the  foregoing  conclusions.  The  deodorizing  coffin  was 
afterwards  sent  to  Washington,  and  after  a  series  of  experiments  there, 
was  approved  by  the  Surgeon  General,  and  Mr.  Smithers  was  con 
tracted  with  by  Colonel  Myers,  A.  Q.  M.,  at  St.  Louis,  to  use  it  in  the 
burial  of  all  soldiers  from  the  hospitals  of  this  city,  so  that  they  might 
afterwards  be  more  conveniently  removed  by  their  friends.  But  the 
Quartermaster  General  at  Washington  disapproved  the  contract,  and 
it  was  never  carried  into  effect. 

On  the  12th  of  April  the  gunboats  of  the  Mississippi  Naval  Squadron 
left  New  Madrid,  just  below  Island  No.  10,  and  proceeded  down  the 
river  to  Fort  Pillow  in  Tennessee.  An  attack  was  made  on  the  fort 
the  next  day,  but  was  not  attended  with  immediate  success.  On  the 
4th  of  May  a  severe  naval  battle  occurred  at  this  point  between  our 
gunboats  and  a  Confederate  ram  and  gunboats  from  below,  who  came 
up  and  commenced  the  attack,  in  the  hope  of  destroying  or  capturing 
our  naval  force,  including  the  mortar  boats.  The  result  of  the  engage 
ment  was  disastrous  to  the  rebels,  one  of  their  boats  having  been  sunk 
and  two  others  blown  up,  while  their  whole  fleet  was  crippled,  and 
withdrew  down  the  river.  One  of  our  boats,  the  "  Cincinnati,"  was 
disabled,  and  four  of  her  crew  wounded. 

On  the  4th  of  June  Forts  Pillow  and  Kandolph  were  evacuated  by 
the  Confederates,  and  on  the  5th  our  fleet  arrived  at  Memphis,  con 
sisting  of  the  gunboats  Benton,  Cairo,  Carondelet,  Louisville,  and  St. 
Louis,  and  the  four  rams  Monarch,  Lancaster,  No.  3,  and  the  Queen  of 
the  West.  On  the  6th  a  great  naval  battle  ensued,  the  Confederates 
bringing  into  the  engagement  the  gunboats  Beauregard,  Little  Rebel, 
General  Price,  General  Bragg,  General  Lovell,  General  Van  Dorn, 
Jeff.  Thompson,  and  the  Sumpter.  The  scene  of  the  battle  was  in 
front  of  the  city,  viewed  by  thousands  of  spectators,  and  the  result  of 
an  hour's  fighting  was  the  destruction  of  the  entire  Confederate  fleet, 
which  was  either  sunk,  or  run  ashore,  except  the  General  Yan  Dorn,  a 


54 

swift  vessel,  which  escaped  down  the  river.  By  this  victory  Memphis 
was  captured,  and  the  Mississippi  river  opened  as  far  down  as  Vicks- 
burg,  against  which  some  naval  operations  were  undertaken,  and 
an  attempt  made  to  change  the  current  of  the  river  by  a  canal, 
which  were  afterwards  abandoned. 

By  these  events  a  new  field  of  operations  was  opened  to  the  Western 
Sanitary  Commission.  The  naval  squadron  had  now  its  own  sick  and 
wounded  to  be  provided  for,  and  general  hospitals  were  immediately 
established  at  Memphis  and  Jackson,  Tenn.,  and  at  Helena,  Ark. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Commission  held  the  22d  of  May,  the  President 
reported  that  Capt.  Wise  of  the  gunboat  flotilla  had  proposed  that  the 
steamer  "Red  Rover"  a  fine  large  boat,  captured  from  the  enemy  at 
Island  No.  10,  should  be  fitted  up  by  the  Commission,  as  a  floating  hos 
pital,  for  the  Mississippi  Naval  Squadron,  towards  which  he  would 
furnish  $2000,  of  the  expense. 

She  was  accordingly  remodeled  in  her  cabin  arrangements,  and  a  com 
plete  outfit  of  beds,  bedding,  furniture,  sanitary  stores,  medical  dispen 
sary,  etc.,  supplied  by  the  Commission,  the  services  of  surgeons,  an 
apothecary,  steward  and  nurses  were  engaged,  and  the  boat  placed  in 
charge  of  Dr.  Geo.  H.  Bixby,  surgeon,  and  Dr.  Hopkins,  assistant  sur 
geon,  two  thoroughly  educated  and  skillful  young  physicians  who  were 
sent  out  from  Boston  by  that  philanthropist  and  friend  of  the  soldier, 
James  M.  Barnard.  Their  services  were  so  highly  appreciated  that,  in 
a  few  months,  they  received  the  unsolicited  honor  of  a  regular  com 
mission  in  the  U.  S.  Navy  as  assistant  surgeons.  Dr.  Bixby  has  con 
tinued  in  charge  of  the  "Red  Rover"  to  the  present  date,  and  Dr. 
Hopkins  also  remains  in  the  service,  in  which  they  have  both  acquired 
a  high  reputation  and  are  greatly  esteemed.  The  expense  incurred 
by  the  Commission  out  of  its  own  funds,  in  fitting  up  this  boat,  was 
$3,500,  which  was  done  with  the  greatest  satisfaction  for  the  brave 
men  who  had  fought  so  nobly,  and  gained  so  many  victories  on  our 
western  waters. 


65 

On  the  10th  of  .hily  the  Army  of  the  South-west  under  Maj. 
Gen.  Curtis,  arrived  at  Helena  in  a  condition  of  great  destitution. 
The  toilsome  march  from  Batesville  under  the  intense  heats  of 
summer,  the  want  of  provisions,  the  difficulty  of  finding  water  to 
drink,  and  what  was  procured  being  often  muddy  and  stagnant, 
caused  much  sickness  to  follow  the  severe  privation  of  the  troops 
on  that  terrible  march,  in  which  the  heroes  of  Pea  Ridge  fought 
their  way  through  to  a  new  base  of  supplies  and  a  river  communica 
tion  with  St.  Louis. 

In  midsummer,  this  army  of  ten  thousand  men  pitched  their  tents 
on  the  bottom  lands  of  the  Mississippi,  around,  above  and  below 
Helena,  and  011  the  hill-sides  and  in  the  woods  lying  back  of  the 
town,  and  a  more  unhealthy  location  could  scarcely  have  been  found. 
But  it  was  the  only  situation  that  could  be  occupied  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Mississippi  below  Memphis;  its  communication  with  Little 
Rock  by  the  Clarendon  road,  its  commercial  advantages, -its  excellent 
houses,  its  convenience  for  storage  of  commissary  and  ordnance  stores 
all  made  it  important  that  it  should  be  held  as  a  military  post. 

The  regiments  suddenly  changing  their  mode  of  life  from  the  rug 
ged  and  toilsome  marches  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed,  to  one 
of  comparative  inactivity,  using  water  from  the  Mississippi,  or  from 
the  poor  springs  and  rivulets  that  were  found  along  the  margin  of  the 
stagnant  cypress  swamps  that  lie  back  of  Helena,  it  was  not  surpris 
ing  that  many  of  these  stalwart  men  were  soon  brought  down  with 
bilious,  remittent,  intermittent  and  typhoid  fevers,  and  with  diarrhea, 
so  that  during  the  autumn  months,  the  regimental  hospitals  were 
filled,  and  the  five  churches  of  the  town,  with  one  exception,  were 
all  converted  into  hospitals. 

Mr.  Plattenburg,  the  agent  of  the  Commission,  who  had  continued 
with  this  army  from  Pea  Ridge  through  all  its  lengthy  march  over 
the  Ozark  Mountains  and  through  the  plains  and  bottom  lands  of 
Arkansas,  by  a  circuitous  route  of  nearly  eight  hundred  miles,  now 


56 

opened  a  depot  at  Helena,  and  received  a  full  supply  of  sanitary 
stores,  which  he  dispensed  liberally  to  the  regimental  surgeons  for 
their  sick ;  and  to  all  the  troops  many  articles  of  comfort  were 
given,  such  as  towels,  handkerchiefs,  combs,  canned  fruits,  and 
vegetables,  potatoes,  onions,  &c.  These  gifts  were  received  with 
the  strongest  expressions  of  gratitude,  after  so  much  destitution, 
hardship  and  suffering,  and  did  much  to  prevent  disease  and  alle 
viate  distress. 

At  Memphis  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  buildings  in  the  city, 
intended  orignally  for  a  hotel,  was  taken  for  hospital  purposes, 
and  called  "The  Overton  Hospital."  To  Surgeon  Derby,  who  was 
placed  in  charge  of  it,  frequent  sliipments  of  sanitary  stores  were 
sent  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  sick  from  the  armies  of  Tennessee. 

At  St.  Louis  the  work  of  friendly  inspection  and  oversight  of 
hospitals  went  on  through  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1862,  and 
large  supplies  of  sanitary  goods  were  sent  to  the  hospitals  and 
regiments,  hospital  steamers  and  gunboats,  throughout  the  Depart 
ments  of  Missouri,  the  Tennessee,  and  the  Mississippi. 

The  gunboats  and  naval  hospital  boat  of  the  Mississippi  squadron 
had  also  been  kept  liberally  supplied  during  this  year.  In  September, 
the  following  letter  was  received  from  Commodore  Davis,  showing 
his  high  appreciation  of  the  services  rendered  by  the  Commission  : 


>ORT,     1 
J,  1862.  J 


FLAGSHIP  EASTPORT, 
HELENA.  September  18, 

SIR  :  The  present  season  is  about  drawing  to  a  close,  and  upon  the 
recommendation  of  Dr.  Bixby,  I  have  sent  the  hospital  steamer  Red 
Rover  to  St.  Louis,  to  be  properly  fitted  up  for  the  winter. 

1  cannot  let  her  return  to  your  vicinity  without  expressing,  in  behalf 
of  myself  and  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  vessels  under  my  command, 
our  heartfelt  and  grateful  acknowledgments  for  your  uniform  kindness 
and  attention  to  the  wants  of  the  sick  of  the  squadron. 


5V 
.  t 

I  beg  you  to  believe  that  your  benevolent  labors  in  our  behalf  have 
been  fully  appreciated. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  utmost  respect, 

Your  obedient  servant  and  friend, 
(Signed,)  C.  H.  DAVIS, 

Commodore  Commanding  Western  Flotilla. 
JAMES  E.  YEATMAX,  ESQ., 

President  Western  Santary  Commission. 

Letters  were  also  received  from  Acting  Rear  Admiral  David  D. 
Porter,  and  from  the  Surgeon  in  Chief  of  the  Naval  Flotilla,  W. 
Whelan,  in  October,  expressive  of  similar  sentiments,  and  acknowl 
edging  the  receipt  of  sanitary  stores. 

The  resources  of  the  Commission  at  this  time  had  become  very  much 
reduced.  The  great  battles  in  Virginia  and  Maryland,  between  Gen 
erals  McClellan  and  Lee,  commencing  on  the  Peninsula,  in  May, 
continued  before  Richmond,  and  ending  at  Antietam,  in  November, 
had  caused  all  voluntary  contributions  from  New  England  and  the 
Middle  States,  to  flow  in  that  direction,  and  the  Western  Commission 
had  for  months  been  thrown  on  its  own  resources  and  the  aid  of  the 
citizens  of  St.  Louis.  Notwithstanding  this  diminution  of  its  resources, 
the  "Western  Commission  also  responded  to  the  call  of  the  Surgeon 
General,  and  forwarded  fifty  boxes  containing  supplies  of  lint,  band 
ages,  &c.,  to  Washington. 

It  now  became  necessary,  however,  to  issue  an  earnest  appeal  for 
a  replenishment  of  its  stores,  from  which  an  extract  is  here  given, 
showing  its  wants,  the  extent  of  its  opportunities,  and  the  work  to 
be  done. 

"  The  demands  upon  this  Commission  are  as  great  a.s  at  any  previous 
time,  and  the  field  of  its  labors  is  daily  enlarged.  An  army  of  not  less 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men,  in  Tennessee,  Kentucky, 
Arkansas  and  Missouri,  and  the  gunboat  flotilla,  looks  to  St.  Louis  for 
nearly  all  its  sanitary  supplies,  and  must  continue  to  do  so  through  the 


58 

war,  as  the  most  convenient  and  accessible  place  at  all  seasons  of  the 
year.  Heretofore  the  Commission  has  been  able  to  meet  all  requisitions. 
It  has  never  refused  to  send  liberally  and  promptly  to  any  point,  what 
ever  has  been  needed  to  alleviate  suffering  and  to  cure  or  prevent 
sickness. 

"  In  Missouri,  Tennessee  and  Arkansas,  the  demand  for  all  kinds  of 
hospital  supplies  is  great,  and  increasing,  for  a  war  of  unprecedented 
malignancy  has  begun  to  be  waged,  and  exposures  of  our  brave  men 
both  to  disease  and  wounds  are  fearfully  great.  Those  who  are  at  a 
distance  from  the  scene  of  action,  can  have  no  adequate  idea  of  the  pri 
vations  and  hardships  of  the  service,  or  of  the  number  of  those  broken 
down  by  it.  The  casualties  of  the  battle-field  are  but  a  small  item  in 
the  estimate.  Forced  inarches,  the  murderous  rifle  of  an  unseen  and 
skulking  enemy,  who  knows  the  work  of  the  assassin  better  than  that 
of  the  soldier,  fill  our  hospitals,  and  thin  our  ranks.  To  such  risks 
are  our  sons  and  kindred  exposed  from  day  to  day,  in  defense  of  the 
country  which  we  all  love  so  well.  Has  money  any  value  greater  than 
to  supply  their  need  ?  Ought  we  to  become  niggardly  in  gifts,  or 
weary  of  work  in  such  a  cause  ?  Can  the  women  of  America  enjoy  or 
endure  the  luxury  of  peaceful  homes,  except  on  condition  of  giving 
the  labor  of  their  hands  and  the  prayers  of  their  hearts  to  those  who 

are  defending  them  at  such  a  cost  ? 

********* 

"  This  appeal  is  most  earnestly  and  affectionately  made  to  all  loyal  and 
humane  persons  in  the  Union.  They  have  already  done  much,  but 
redoubled  efforts  in  all  departments  of  the  war  must  now  be  made. 
The  600,000  new  recruits  will  not  be  without  their  sick  and  w^ounded, 
and  many  a  hard  battle  must  yet  be  fought.  Let  the  rich  give  of  their 
abundance.  Let  the  poor  spare  all  they  can. 

"  Especially  we  appeal  to  LOYAL  WOMEN,  wherever  they  may  be.  They 
are  the  true  "  Home  Guards"  of  the  nation — the  ministering  angels  to 
sickness  and  suffering.  Without  them  Sanitary  Commissions  can  do 


59 

hut  a  small  part  of  their  work,  and  upon  their  efficient  assistance  we 
principally  depend." 

This  appeal  was  nobly  responded  to  from  New  England,  Boston  alone 
sending  $9,000  at  this  time,  and  a  few  months  later  contributing 
$50,000  more,  for  sanitary  purposes  in  the  western  armies.  One  noble 
and  patriotic  woman  in  that  city,  Mrs.  Thomas  Lamb,  has  appro 
priated  a  room  in  her  own  house  for  the  reception  of  sanitary  goods, 
for  the  western  soldiers,  letting  it  be  known  to  her  friends,  and  the 
result  has  been  that  she  has  packed  and  forwarded  to  this  Commission 
of  her  own  and  their  contributions,  over  one  hundred  boxes  of  hospital 
supplies,  garments,  etc.,  besides  generous  sums  of  money,  the  boxes 
ranging  in  value  from  $150  to  $200  each.  Other  humane  and  patriotic 
friends,  among  them  Messrs.  James  M.  Barnard  and  R.  C.  Greenleaf, 
have  also  labored  most  indefatigably  in  the  same  way,  and  endeared 
themselves  forever  to  all  who  knew  of  their  noble  services  to  the 
soldiers  in  the  armies  of  the  west.  When  it  is  remembered  that  Massa 
chusetts  has  had  her  own  sons,  mainly  in  the  armies  of  the  Potomac, 
and  in  the  Department  of  the  South  and  of  the  Gulf,  and  that  without 
neglecting  her  duty  to  them,  she  has  made  the  most  generous  dona 
tions  of  any  other  State  to  our  western  troops,  no  one  can  fail  to 
appreciate  so  noble  an  example  of  disinterested  patriotism  and  benevo 
lence. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

ARMY  OF  THE  FRONTIER— AGENT  SENT  TO  SPRINGFIELD,  Mo.,  WITH  STORES— BAT 
TLES  AT  CROSS  HOLLOWS,  CANE  HILL,  AND  PRAIRIE  GROVE— ARRIVAL  OF  REV.  MR. 
NEWELL  AT  FAYETTEVILLE  WITH  AMBULANCES  AND  SANITARY  GOODS — His  USEFUL 
SERVICES— His  DEATH  AT  A  LATER  PERIOD— NOTICE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER— FLYING 
HOSPITALS — ADDITIONAL  HOSPITALS  AT  ST.  Louis — THE  MARINE,  JEFFERSON  BAR 
RACKS  AND  LAWSON  HOSPITALS — THE  DIMINISHING  PERCENTAGE  OF  DEATHS — THE 

HOPEFUL   CONDITION  OF  THE    ARMIES   OF   THE   UNION— THE    SYMPATHY   OF   THE   PEO 
PLE  WITH  THE  SOLDIERS— PROSPECTS  OF  ULTIMATE  VICTORY. 


Iii  the  Fall  of  1862  Brig.  Gen.  Schofield  took  command  of  the  Army 
of  the  Frontier,  beyond  Springfield,  Mo.,  and  on  leaving  St.  Louis, 
expressed  the  desire  that  the  Commission  would  forward  a  full  supply 
of  sanitary  stores  to  that  post.  The  suggestion  was  favorably  regarded 
and  acted  upon,  and  an  agent,  Mr.  J.  E.  Tefft,  sent  forward,  furnished 
with  every  thing  necessary  as  a  supplement  to  the  medical  stores 
allowed  to  the  surgeons  in  the  field. 

Many  supplies  had  been  previously  sent  to  Surgeon  Melcher,  Medical 
Director  at  Springfield,  and  the  additions  now  made  were  forwarded 
in  view  of  the  probability  of  more  active  hostilities  between  the  Union 
and  rebel  forces  of  the  south-west. 

This  anticipation  proved  to  be  well  founded.  Towards  the  end  of 
October,  in  the  north-west  part  of  Arkansas,  near  the  old  battle-field 
of  Pea  Ridge,  at  Cross  Hollows,  Gen.  Herron  had  a  severe  engage 
ment  with  the  enemy;  and  again  on  the  28th  of  November,  Gen.  Blunt 
made  an  attack  on  Gen.  Marmaduke,  with  about  eight  thousand  men, 
at  Cane  Hill,  forty-five  miles  north  of  Van  Buren,  in  which  the  rebels 
were  defeated,  and  retreated  to  that  place.  Again,  on  the  7th  of 
December,  the  combined  Confederate  forces,  under  the  command  of 
Gen.  Hindman,  estimated  at  fifteen  thousand  men,  attempted  to  cut 
off  the  reinforcements  of  Gen.  Blunt,  ten  miles  south  of  Fayetteville, 


01 

and  made  an  attack  on  Gen.  Herron  before  he  had  formed  a  junction 
with  Gen.  Blunt.  Gen.  Herron's  forces,  however,  held  their  ground 
until  Gen.  Blunt,  who  was  informed  of  the  movement,  came  upon  the 
rear  of  the  rebel  army,  at  Crawford's  Prairie,  when  there  occurred 
what  has  since  been  called  the  battle  of  Prairie  Grove,  in  which  the 
rebels  were  defeated,  the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  on  both  sides 
being  very  great. 

The  wounded  from  this  battle  were  removed  to  Fayetteville,  and 
public  buildings  and  private  houses  were  taken  for  hospitals ;  but  there 
was  a  great  deficiency  of  means  to  take  proper  care  of  the  men,  the 
town  and  the  country  around  it  having  been  greatly  impoverished  by 
the  war,  and  the  inhabitants  being  of  the  poorest  class.  There  was  110 
adequate  supply  of  bandages,  lint,  bedding,  stimulants,  nor  means  of 
fitting  up  the  empty  houses  and  making  them  comfortable,  nor  of 
cooking  food. 

Previous  to  this  battle  the  Commission  had  sent  forward  Rev.  Fred 
erick  E.  Xewell  to  Springfield,  to  take  the  place  of  Mr.  TefFt,  with  two 
ambulances  and  additional  stores,  and  on  hearing  of  this  battle  he 
proceeded  on  from  Springfield  to  Fayetteville.  His  arrival  was  most 
timely,  and,  with  an  earnest  devotion  to  duty,  he  turned  over  every 
thing  he  had  to  Surgeon  Ira  Russell,  U.  S.  V.,  in  charge,  and  Assistant 
Surgeon  Carpenter,  and  went  to  work  himself  at  whatever  his  hands 
could  find  to  do.  For  a  time  he  acted  as  carpenter,  ambulance  driver, 
nurse,  wound-dresser,  and  general  worker,  and  in  the  report  afterwards 
made  by  the  Surgeons,  his  services  were  spoken  of  in  the  highest  terms 
of  commendation. 

In  the  report  of  Surgeon  Russell,  he  said:  "My  thanks  are  due  to 
the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  for  the  valuable  aid  rendered  to  the 
wounded  from  the  battle  of  Prairie  Grove,  by  its  agent,  Mr.  F.  R. 
Newell."  In  Dr.  Carpenter's  report  he  said:  "Mr.  Newell's  sanitary 
stores  were  a  perfect  God-send  to  our  poor  fellows,  many  of  whom  had 
lost  nearly  all  their  clothing  on  the  battle  field.  He  made  a  judicious 


62 

distribution  of  his  shirts,  drawers,  and  other  articles,  among  the  most 
needy.  He  also  placed  at  our  disposal  two  ambulances,  without  which 
we  could  hardly  have  carried  on  the  hospital.  Enough  cannot  be  said 
of  an  institution  which  performs  such  deeds." 

As  Mr.  Newell  has  since  been  removed  from  his  earthly  labors  to  the 
heavenly  life,  it  is  proper  that  some  further  mention  should  here  be 
made  of  him.  After  the  battle  of  Prairie  Grove  he  continued  for  seve 
ral  months  to  act  as  the  agent  of  the  Western  Commission  at  Springfield, 
Mo.,  and  in  May,  1863,  returned  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  was,  soon  after, 
elected  chaplain  of  the  1st  Missouri  State  Militia,  and  assigned,  by  an 
order  of  Maj.  Gen.  Schofield,  to  the  duty  of  superintendent  of  freed- 
meii  in  this  city.  For  several  months  he  attended  to  this  work  in  a 
faithful  and  conscientious  manner,  interrupted  occasionally  by  illness, 
when,  on  the  8th  of  January,  186-4,  after  a  severe  attack  of  inflammatory 
rheumatism,  he  died  suddenly,  at  Benton  Barracks,  at  his  post. 

As  a  friend  of  the  poor  freedmen  and  their  families,  as  a  Christian 
minister  and  a  citizen,  as  a  man  of  amiable,  forbearing,  and  Christ- 
like  spirit,  he  will  be  long  remembered  by  those  who  were  associated 
with  him  in  his  labors,  and  who  knew  of  his  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  his 
Divine  Master. 

During  the  fall  of  1863  the  idea  originated  in  the  Western  Sanitary 
Commission  of  a  Flying  Hospital,  to  accompany  the  army  in  the 
field,  prepared  for  the  emergencies  of  battle,  with  the  means  of 
immediately  providing  for  wounded  men.  The  President  of  the 
Commission  was  authorized  to  fit  out  three  ambulances,  with  hos 
pital  and  shelter  tents,  cots,  bedding,  towels,  sanitary  stores,  food, 
liquors,  bandages,  lint,  sponges,  vessels  for  supplying  the  wounded  with 
water  and  stimulants,  the  whole  to  be  in  charge  of  a  competent  person, 
with  a  corps  of  male  nurses  and  wound-dressers  in  attendance,  to 
accompany  the  army,  to  be  under  the  direction  of  the  medical  direc 
tor,  and  ready  at  all  times  to  assist  the  surgeons  when  required.  Two 
pannier  mules  were  also  to  accompany  each  ambulance,  with  straps 


03 

and  fixtures,  by  which  kegs  of  water  and  stimulants,  and  other  ar 
ticles  of  immediate  utility  on  the  battle  field,  could  be  carried  on  their 
backs,  and  be  at  hand  when  most  needed.  The  plan  was  submitted 
to  Assistant  Surgeon  General  Wood,  and  met  with  his  entire  ap 
probation. 

The  first  of  these  Flying  Hospitals  was  fitted  up  for  Gen.  Grant's 
army,  then  at  Corinth,  Miss.,  and  a  letter,  endorsed  by  the  Assistant 
Surgeon  General,  was  addressed  to  Maj.  Gen.  Grant,  asking  per 
mission  for  it  to  accompany  his  movements.  The  Flying  Hospital 
went  forward  to  Lagrange,  Tennessee,  where  the  Medical  Director, 
Surgeon  "Wirtz,  refused  his  sanction,  and  would  not  permit  it  to  go 
any  further.  The  letter  to  Gen.  Grant  probably  never  reached  him, 
as  no  answer  was  ever  received,  and  the  opposition  of  his  chief 
surgeon  defeated  an  enterprize  which  was,  in  every  respect,  practicable 
and  unobjectionable,  having  for  its  object  the  better  care  and  prompt 
relief  of  our  wounded  soldiers  on  the  field  of  battle.  Some  prejudice 
against  Sanitary  Commissions,  or  too  great  a  readiness  to  regard 
their  proffered  assistance  as  an  interference  with  official  dignity  and 
routine,  or  some  failure  of  military  etiquette,  are  supposed  to  have 
stood  in  the  way  of  this  beneficent  project.  The  mules  and  ambulances 
were  afterwards  returned  to  the  Soldiers'  Homes  at  Columbus  and 
Memphis,  where  they  did  good  service  ;  the  stores  were  distributed 
to  the  sick,  and  the  nurses  and  wound-dressers  performed  valuable 
services  in  the  hospitals  at  LagTange  and  elsewhere. 

The  outfit  of  Rev.  Mr.  Newell,  as  an  agent  of  the  Commission  with 
Gen.  Schofield's  army,  with  his  ambulances  and  stores,  was  similar  in 
its  character,  and  proved  exceedingly  useful,  after  the  battle  of  Prairie 
Grove,  though  not  arriving  in  time  to  be  present  at  the  battle. 

The  difficulty  of  procuring  the  necessary  sanction,  and  co-operation 
of  the  regular  army  surgeons  to  such  an  enterprize  has  prevented  its 
renewal,  although  there  is  never  a  great  battle  where  these  Flying- 
Hospitals  w^ould  not  be  of  the  greatest  utility  and  benefit,  and  save 


64 

many  valuable  lives.  It  is  due,  however,  to  Assistant  Surgeon  Gen 
eral  AYood,  whose  humanity  is  always  paramount  to  official  etiquette, 
to  mention  the  fact  of  his  hearty  approval,  and  that  it  was  at  his 
request  that  one  of  these  hospitals  was  sent  to  the  Army  of  the  Fron 
tier,  then  at  Fayetteville,  Arkansas. 

During  the  present  year  three  additional  military  hospitals  were 
added  to  those  already  established  in  St.  Louis,  the  Marine,  the  Jef 
ferson  Barracks,  and  the  Lawson  Hospitals.  The  necessity  for  this 
arose  from  the  large  number  of  sick  brought  by  the  hospital  steamers 
from  the  armies  of  the  Frontier,  the  South-west,  the  Tennessee  and 
the  Mississippi. 

Thej_Marine  Hospital  was  a  government  institution,  originally  in 
tended  for  persons  engaged  in  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  river. 
It  is  a  four  story  stone  and  brick  edifice,  surrounded  by  extensive  and 
well  shaded  grounds,  a  garden  in  which  the  convalescent  patients  per 
form  a  part  of  the  labor,  and  has  every  convenience  of  a  model  hospitals. 

It  was  opened  as  a  military  hospital  May  the  4th,  1862,  and  then  had 
accommodations  for  150  patients.  From  that  date  till  May  1st,  1864, 
it  had  received  1574  patients,  and  its  per  centage  of  death  was  9. 
During  the  summer  of  1863  its  accommodations  were  enlarged  for  100 
more  patients  by  the  addition  of  wooden  barracks,  in  which  a  new  and 
excellent  mode  of  ventilation  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Leeds  of  Phila 
delphia,  by  means  of  stoves,  drawing  fresh  air  through  an  air  chamber, 
under  the  floor,  and  passing  it  through  the  heating  chamber  of  the 
stoves  into  the  wards.  There  being  also  a  ridge  ventilation  at  the 
top  of  the  barracks,  and  a  ventilating  shaft  in  each  ward,  with  open 
ings  at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  rooms,  no  more  perfect  system  of 
ventilation  could  possibly  be  devised,  securing  at  the  same  time  what 
ever  temperature  may  be  desired. 

The  officers  are  Assistant  Surgeon  James  H.  Peabody,  U.  S.  V., 
in  charge,  L.  H.  Galloway,  M.  D.,  Acting  Assistant  Surgeon,  and 
Rev.  James  A.  Page,  Chaplain. 


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Jefferson  Barracks  was  formerly  a  military  post  at  which  United 
States  troops  were  stationed,  situated  about  twelve  miles  below  St. 
Louis,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Mississippi  river.  It  consists  of  long- 
rows  of  buildings,  one  and  two  stories  high,  with  basement  kitchens 
and  dining-rooms,  and  wide  piazzas,  extending  011  three  sides  of  a 
large  plat  of  ground,  in  the  form  of  a  parallelogram,  shaded  with  fine 
trees,  the  open  end  of  the  grounds  being  towards  the  river,  with  a 
high  flag-staff  on  the  bluff,  from  which  the  flag  of  the  Union  is  always 
unfurled  to  the  breeze.  The  old  post  hospital  stands  near  on  an 
adjoining  eminence,  and  is  two  stories  high,  and  the  post  chapel  is 
situated  several  hundred  yards  back  from  the  river,  in  a  pleasantly 
shaded  spot,  retired  from  the  barracks. 

In  April,  1862,  these  buildings,  except  the  post  chapel,  which  is 
still  reserved  for  worship,  were  converted  into  a  large  hospital,  for 
which  purpose  they  were  admirably  suited,  the  rooms  being  large, 
having  numerous  windows  on  both  sides,  opposite  each  other,  and  the 
piazzas  and  shaded  walks,  affording  excellent  opportunities  for  exercise. 

Beside  the  old  buildings,  the  Government,  during  the  summer  of 
18G2,  erected  others  on  the  ample  grounds  belonging  to  it,  cii  the  west 
side,  so  as  to  afford  accommodations  for  two  thousand  five  hundred 
patients.  These  new  buildings  are  one  story  high,  in  triple  rows  six 
hundred  feet  long,  divided  into  wards  of  three  hundred  feet  each. 
There  are  three  groups  or  sets  of  these  new  hospitals,  some  distance 
apart,  the  entire  grounds  in  every  direction  being  beautifully  shaded 
by  large  oak  trees.  They  are  so  arranged  that  each  group  has  the 
central  row  appropriated  to  a  dining-room,  and  surgeons',  nurses'  and 
stewards'  quarters,  the  outside  rows  being  for  sick  wards.  Besides 
these  improvements,  a  system  of  water  works  has  been  introduced, 
with  reservoir  and  pipes,  by  which  the  water  of  the  Mississippi  is 
carried  through  all  the  buildings. 

The  institution  is  in  charge  of  Surgeon  J.  F.  Randolph,  U.  S.  A., 
assisted  by  Dr.  H.  It.  Tilton,  U.  S.  A.,  and  P.  C.  McLane,  M.  D.;  A. 

E 


66 

L.  Allen,  M.  D.;  T.  F.  Rumbold,  M.  D.;  Hiram  Latham,  M.  D.;  S. 
Leslie,  M.  D.,  and  J.  J.  Marston,  M.  D.  The  Post  Chaplain,  Rev.  J. 
F.  Fisli,  has  been  stationed  here  many  years,  and  continues  his  ser 
vices,  in  connection  with  Rev.  S.  Pettigrew,  Hospital  Chaplain. 

The  number  of  patients  received  and  treated  in  this  hospital  in  two 
years,  ending  April  30,  1864,  is  11,434.  The  per  centage  of  deaths  the 
first  year  was  eleven  and  a  half,  which  was  much  increased  by  the 
large  number  brought  to  it  in  a  dying  condition.  The  per  centage  of 
deaths  for  the  year  just  ended  is  nine  and  eight-tenths. 

The  Lawson  Hospital  is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Carr  streets,  and  was  fitted  up  during  the  latter  part  of  the  fall  of  1802. 
The  edifice  was  originally  intended  for  a  hotel,  is  seven  stories  high, 
and  is  divided  into  eight  wards,  besides  office  rooms,  nurses'  quarters, 
linen  room,  kitchen,  dining  hall,  and  store  rooms.  It  is  well  ventilated; 
an  average  number  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  cubic  feet  is  allowed 
to  each  bed  ;  and  it  is  provided  with  a  steam  engine  and  elevator, 
furnished  by  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  at  an  expense  of  two 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The  institution  is  in  charge  of  Surgeon 
C.  T.  Alexander,  U.  S.  A.,  assisted  by  W.  II.  Bradley,  M.  D.;  L.  H. 
Bottomley,  M.  D.,  and  Wm.  Fritz,  M.  D.  Rev.  Phillip  McKim  is 
Hospital  Chaplain. 

The  hospital  wTas  opened  January  17th,  1863,  since  which  the  whole 
number  of  patients  received  has  been  3,021.  For  the  first  four  months 
the  per  centage  of  deaths  was  very  large,  being  twenty-five  and  nine- 
tenths,  which  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  during  that  period  it  received 
the  wounded  from  the  battles  of  Vicksburg  and  Arkansas  Post,  and 
the  sick  from  Milliken's  Bend  and  Helena,  which  were  of  the  worst 
description,  having  many  hopeless  cases  both  of  wounds  and  of  chronic 
diarrhea,  some  of  whom  died  as  they  were  being  brought  into  the 
hospital.  The  per  centage  of  deaths  for  the  last  year,  ending  April 
30th,  1864,  has  been  much  less,  being  7  8-10. 

The  diminished  per  centage  of  deaths  in  the  military  hospitals  during 


67 

the  third  year  of  the  war,  which  the  statistics  of  other  hospitals  will 
show,  is  evidence  of  a  most  gratifying  improvement  in  the  manage 
ment  of  these  institutions,  and  in  the  care  and  treatment  of  the 
sick  and  wounded  soldier.  This  result  has  been  influenced  also  by 
the  sifting  out  from  our  armies,  by  death  and  discharges  from  the 
service,  during  the  first  two  years  of  the  war,  all  those  who  were 
not  able  to  endure  its  hardships  and  exposures,  those  who  remain 
being  mainly  veteran  troops.  Xo  war  has  ever  been  conducted  in 
which  the  per  cent  of  deaths  from  disease  has  been  so  small,  and  the 
health  and  vigor  of  the  troops  so  well  maintained  ;  nor  one  in  which 
there  has  been  so  strong  a  current  of  sympathy  and  aid  from  the 
people  at  home  towards  the  soldiers  in  the  field,  as  in  this  war  for 
the  unity  and  national  supremacy  of  the  American  Republic.  Civilians, 
unable  to  bear  arms,  men  of  science  and  of  letters,  the  orators  and  poets, 
and  clergy  of  the  land,  and  the  noble  and  self-sacrificing  women  of  our 
free  commonwealths,  have  all  vied  with  each  other  in  their  etforts  to 
give  help  and  sympathy  to  the  soldier,  and  to  inspire  an  interest  in  his 
welfare.  With  such  an  influence  to  encourage  and  cheer  the  armies 
of  the  Union,  there  is  an  explanation  of  the  health,  the  spirit,  and 
the  unconquerable  bravery  of  our  troops,  who,  under  their  present 
tried  and  able  commanders,  are  bearing  the  flag  of  freedom  on  to 
victory.  May  the  spirit  of  liberty  continue  thus  to  animate  all  hearts, 
and  welcome  home  our  brave  defenders  when  the  last  battle  shall 
be  fought,  and  our  peace  and  prosperity  be  established  on  sure 
foundations. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

GENERAL  SHERMAN'S  FIRST  ATTACK  ON  VICKSBURG— WORKS  ASSAULTED— SEVERE 
LOSSES  TO  THE  UNION  ARMS — HOSPITAL  STEAMERS  BRING  THE  WOUNDED  TO 
MEMPHIS  AND  ST.  Louis— BATTLE  OF  ARKANSAS  POST— MORE  WOUNDED  BROUGHT 
TO  ST.  Louis— DELEGATION  OF  THE  LADIES'  UNION  AID  SOCIETY  OF  ST.  Louis— 
IOWA  STATE  AGENT— RENEWAL  OF  THE  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  A'ICKSBURG  BY 
GENERAL  GRANT— INCREASED  HOSPITAL  ACCOMMODATIONS  REQUIRED— VISIT  OF 
MR.  YEATMAN  TO  GEN.  GRANT'S  ARMY— His  LETTER— BENTON  BARRACKS 
HOSPITAL,  ST.  Louis— ADDITIONAL  HOSPITALS  AT  MEMPHIS— THE  FLOATING 
HOSPITAL,  "CITY  OF  ALTON,"  THE  "RUTH,"  AND  "  GLASGOW" — SECOND  VISIT 
OF  MR.  YEATMAN  TO  GENERAL  GRANT'S  ARMY— His  REPORT— SANITARY  STORES 
SENT  TO  GEN.  GRANT'S  ARMY — FALL  OF  VICKSBURG — ITS  UNTITLED  HEROES. 


IN  the  latter  part  of  December,  18G2,  Maj.  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman 
embarked  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  troops  on  transports,  at 
Memphis  and  Helena,  and  commenced  an  expedition  against  Vicks- 
burg,  under  the  direction  of  Maj.  Gen.  Grant,  who  was  to  co-operate 
by  land,  in  a  movement  through  Holly  Springs  to  Jackson,  taking 
Vicksbnrg  in  the  rear.  On  the  26th  of  December,  the  main  forces, 
under  Gen.  Sherman,  disembarked  successfully  at  Johnston's  Landing, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  river,  and  prepared  for  an  assault  the 
next  day  on  the  northern  works  that  defended  the  city.  On  the  27th, 
28th,  and  29th,  several  attempts  were  made  to  take  the  fortifications, 
but  a  stern  and  terrible  resistance  was  made  by  the  rebels,  who 
outnumbered  our  forces,  and  who  had  the  advantage  of  the  strongest 
natural  defenses  and  artificial  earthworks  known  in  modern  warfare. 

The  result  of  the  three  days'  fighting  was  a  terrible  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded  to  the  Union  forces,  and  a  temporary  relinquishmeut 
of  the  undertaking.  An  unforeseen  contingency,  the  capture  of  Holly 
Springs,  in  General  Grant's  rear,  cutting  off  his  communication 
and  his  supplies,  had  compelled  his  return  to  that  point,  and  the  aban- 


CO 

doiimeiit  of  his  part  of  the  undertaking-,  which  had  enabled  the  rebels 
to  concentrate  their  forces  at  Vicksburg,  and  accomplish  Gen.  Sher 
man's  defeat.  The  wounded  of  his  army  were  immediately  forwarded 
to  the  Memphis  and  St.  Louis  hospitals  by  transports  and  hospital 
steamers.  On  their  way  they  were  met  by  a  delegation  of  the  Ladies' 
Union  Aid  Society,  of  St.  Louis,  hastening  on  the  first  boats  with  boxes 
of  sanitary  goods,  to  minister  to  their  necessities. 

The  Western  Commission  put  in  charge  of  these  ladies  a  large  supply 
of  stores,  to  be  used  by  them  or  turned  over  to  the  surgeons,  as  they 
should  be  needed.  The  agent  of  the  Commission,  Mr.  Plattenburg, 
also  went  down  with  Gen.  Sherman's  expedition  from  Helena,  and 
was  on  hand  with  his  sanitary  stores  immediately  after  the  fighting. 

The  delegation  of  the  St.  Louis  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society  consisted 
of  Mrs.  Alfred  Clapp,  the  President  of  the  Society,  Mrs.  J.  E.  D.  Cou- 
/ins,  Mrs.  Washington  King,  Mrs.  J.  Crawshaw,  Mrs.  Wm.  Clark,  and 
Miss  Breckinridge.  Besides  these  there  was  also  a  delegation  from 
the  Chicago  Branch  of  the  U.  S.  Commission  of  Mrs.  M.  A.  Liver- 
more  and  Mrs.  Hoge  of  Chicago,  and  Mrs.  Henrietta  J.  Colt  of  Mil- 
waukie;  and  there  was  likewise  Mrs.  Annie  Wittenmier,  the  State 
agent  of  the  Iowa  Sanitary  Commission,  who  had  in  charge  a  large 
supply  of  sanitary  goods  from  that  State.  All  these  noble  women 
were  indefatigable  in  their  efforts  to  relieve  and  comfort  the  sick  and 
wounded,  and  to  minister  to  them. 

The  disastrous  attack  on  Vicksburg,  which  ended  the  year  '62,  was 
followed  up,  almost  immediately  by  another  expedition,  with  the  same 
army,  under  Gen.  J.  A.  McClernand,  assisted  by  the  navy,  against 
Arkansas  Post,  on  the  Arkansas  river,  which  was  taken,  after  another 
severe  battle  on  the  llth  of  January,  '63,  with  eight  thousand  prison 
ers,  and  a  large  number  of  cannon,  ordnance  stores  and  small  arms, 
the  gunboats  " Louisville,"  "DeKalb,"  " Cincinnati, "and  " Lexington," 
under  Admiral  Porter,  co-operating  with  the  land  forces. 

The  fortifications  at  Arkansas  Post  were  destroyed,  and  the  cxpe- 


70 

dition  then  returned  up  the  river  to  Helena  and  Memphis,  bringing 
along  several  hundred  wounded  on  transports,  who  suffered  many 
privations,  the  surgeons  being  poorly  provided  with  the  means  of 
making  them  comfortable.  The  boats  were  much  crowded,  the  weather 
was  cold,  draughts  of  air  were  blowing  through  the  cabins,  the  sick 
and  wounded  men  had  to  lie  on  the  floors,  and  there  were  not  nurses 
enough  to  take  care  of  them. 

On  reaching  Helena  a  portion  of  the  St.  Louis  delegation  of  the 
Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society,  who  had  just  returned  from  Vicksburg, 
went  on  board  these  transports,  took  such  sanitary  stores  with  them 
as  were  needed,  and  remained  on  them  till  they  reached  St.  Louis, 
bestowing  the  tenderest  care  and  nursing  upon  those  poor  suffering 
and  wounded  men. 

The  severity  of  these  wounds,  the  unavoidable  exposure  in  winter, 
the  long  passage  to  St.  Louis,  both  of  those  from  Vicksburg,  as  well 
as  of  those  from  Arkansas  Post,  resulted  in  the  loss  of  many  of  these 
brave  men,  and  a  great  percentage  of  deaths  followed  in  the  Lawson 
Hospital  at  St.  Louis,  where  most  of  them  were  taken,  as  well  as  of 
the  very  sick,  from  Helena,  being  25  9-10th  per  cent  of  all  who  were 
admitted  during  that  winter,  till  the  first  of  the  next  June. 

It  was  at  this  time,  while  there  were  so  many  sick  in  the  camps 
and  hospitals  of  the  army  in  Tennessee  and  Arkansas,  during  the 
worst  winter  known  for  many  years,  and  when  so  many  wounded 
were  thrown  upon  our  care,  that  additional  hospitals  were  opened 
at  St.  Louis  and  Memphis,  and  additional  hospital  steamers  fitted  up 
to  ply  to  and  fro  on  the  Mississippi  river,  between  the  army  and  the 
well-furnished  and  well-managed  hospitals  farther  north. 

This  was  done  also  in  view  of  the  renewal  of  operations  against 
Vicksburg.  On  the  failure  of  Gen.  Grant's  movement  through 
Mississippi,  to  take  Jackson,  and  attack  Vicksburg  in  the  rear,  while 
Gen.  Sherman  attacked  the  city  on  the  north  side,  he  returned  to, 
Holly  Springs,,  punished  the'recreant  commander,  Col.  li.  C.  Murphy 


71 

who  had  surrendered  that  post  without  any  proper  effort  to  defend  it, 
by  dismissal  from  the  service,  and  thence  proceeded  with  his  army 
to  Memphis,  where  he  embarked  his  forces  on  transports  for  Young's 
Point  and  Milliken's  Bend,  La.  Here  he  landed  his  troops  on  the 
2i)th  of  January.  It  does  not  come  within  the  legitimate  object  of  this 
work  to  give  even  a  sketch  of  military  operations,  beyond  what  is 
necessary  to  show  how  the  Sanitary  Commission  followed  the  army 
and  navy,  and  improved  its  opportunities  of  usefulness. 

During  February  and  March,  while  the  army  of  Gen.  Grant  was 
occupying  the  low  region  of  country  above  Vicksburg,  on  the  Lou 
isiana  shore,  trying  to  change  the  bed  of  the  river,  by  cutting  a  canal 
across  the  large  bend,  opposite  the  city ;  while  gunboats  and  transports, 
with  troops,  were  sent  to  explore  the  bayous  leading  to  the  Yazoo 
and  Red  rivers ;  and  while  an  expedition  was  sent  to  open  the  Yazoo 
Pass,  to  effect  a  passage  through  the  Cold  Water  and  Tallahatchie  rivers 
to  the  Yazoo,  by  which  to  destroy  rebel  vessels  in  that  river,  capture 
Yazoo  City,  and  take  Vicksburg  in  the  rear,  the  Mississippi  was 
overflowing  the  low  lands  in  every  direction,  the  camping  grounds 
of  many  of  the  regiments  were  flooded,  the  rains  were  incessant, 
and,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  there  was  a  large  amount  of  sickness 
in  the  army.  Exaggerated  reports  were  circulated  by  letter  writers 
through  the  Northern  press,  and  much  anxiety  and  uneasiness  were 
felt  in  regard  to  the  health  of  the  troops. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Yeatman,  the  President  of  the  Western  Commission, 
went  down  to  make  a  personal  inspection,  and  on  his  return,  on  the 
13th  of  March,  published  a  letter,  giving  an  account  of  his  visit, 
and  of  the  actual  state  of  things.  In  this  letter  he  says: 

"  For  a  short  time  after  the  landing  of  the  army  at  and  near  Young's 
Point,  consequent  upon  long  confinement  upon  transports,  there  was 
much  sickness;  but  the  health  of  the  troops  improved  rapidly,  and 
the  per  centage  of  sickness  is  below  what  I  have  generally  found  it 
in  camps  in  other  portions  of  the  country  which  I  have  visited.  Besides 


72 

many  others,  I  visited  every  regiment  in  Sherman's  corps,  which  was 
reported  in  the  worst  condition.  While  in  some  of  the  new  regiments 
the  amount  of  sickness  was  large,  in  others  it  was  unusually  small. 
The  great  danger  to  be  apprehended  was  from  want  of  vegetable  diet, 
symptoms  of  scurvy  having  already  made  their  appearance.'' 

Mr.  Yeatman  recommended  that  the  friends  of  the  soldiers  should 
send  large  quantities  of  vegetables,  fruits,  and  pickles,  and  the  Com 
mission  at  once  sent  a  large  supply,  and  directed  its  agent,  Mr. 
Plattenburg,  to  proceed  immediately  and  establish  his  headquarters 
with  the  army  near  Vicksburg. 

Mr.  Yeatman  remarked,  with  great  satisfaction,  the  interest  taken 
by  Generals  Sherman  and  Grant  in  the  health  of  their  troops,  lie 
says  of  the  former:  "I  saw  Gen.  Sherman  going  through  the  camps 
on  foot,  giving  particular  directions  in  regard  to  sanitary  regulations. 
No  one  could  look  after  liis  men  more  carefully  than  he  does.  While 
he  maintains  a  strict,  discipline,  he  mingles  with  and  goes  among  his 
men  to  ascertain  personally  their  wants.  lie  has  a  kind  word  for  all, 
and  is  greeted,  by  his  men,  as  one  who  cares  for,  and  thinks  of  their 
comfort.  With  the  sick  he  is  as  delicate  and  tender  as  a  woman.  I 
am  thus  particular  in  mentioning  General  Sherman's  corps,  as  my 
attention  was  particularly  directed  to  it,  owing  to  reports  which  had 
been  made  to  me." 

After  describing  the  ample  arrangements  made  for  the  care  of  the  sick 
.and  wounded,  he  remarked  still  further  :  "  Gen.  Grant  is  determined 
to  have  provision,  made  for  the  sick  equal  to  any  contingency  that  may 
arise,  and  before  long  will  quarter  his  army  on  high  ground,  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river.  Assistant  Surgeon  General  Wood  is  accom 
plishing,  and  will  accomplish,  all  that  is  possible  to  be  done." 

While  these  arrangements  were  being  carried  out  near  the  scene 
of  conflict,  the  Assistant  Surgeon  General  was  making  extensive  pre 
parations,  at  St.  Louis  and  Memphis,  to  be  well  provided  against  future 
emergencies.  Under  his  directions,  the  large  amphitheatre  building 


73 

in  the  old  fair  grounds  at  Bcnton  Barracks,  a  few  miles  northwest 
from  St.  Louis,  and  north  of  the  St.  Charles  road,  was  taken  pos 
session  of  by  the  Government  for  hospital  purposes.  It  was  enclosed? 
provided  with  windows,  floored,  partitioned,  divided  into  wards, 
thoroughly  whitewashed,  furnished  with  iron  bedsteads  and  good 
beds,  and  converted  into  one  of  the  largest,  most  thoroughly  ventilated 
and  best  hospitals  in  the  United  States,  capable  of  accommodating 
two  thousand  live  hundred  patients.  Numerous  other  buildings,  near 
the  main  edifice,  on  the  same  grounds,  formerly  used  by  the  Agricul 
tural  Society  for  its  exhibitions,  were  used  for  oflicers'  quarters, 
medical  dispensary,  commissary  rooms,  special  diet  kitchens,  &c.,  and 
the  fine  walks  and  splendid  shade  added  much  to  the  beauty  and 
attractiveness  of  the  place. 

The  institution  was  at  first  placed  in  charge  of  Surgeon  Ira  Russell, 
U.  S.  V.,  under  whose  administration  it  was  conducted  with  entire 
success.  It  was  opened  March  1st,  1863,  and  during  the  following 
three  months  received  two  thousand  and  forty-two  patients.  For 
that  period  the  per  centage  of  deaths  was  only  four  and  a  half  of  the 
whole  number.  From  June  1st,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864,  there  were 
four  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-eight  patients  received,  and 
the  per  centage  of  deaths  was  seven  and  one-tenth. 

In  this  hospital  there  was  appointed  an  excellent  corps  of  female 
nurses,  who  were  placed  under  the  immediate  oversight  and  direc 
tion  of  a  supervisor  of  nurses,  acting  under  the  surgeon  in  charge, 
which  position  was  ably  and  successfully  filled  by  Miss  Emily 
Parsons,  of  Cambridge,  Mass.  The  good  order,  attention  to  duty, 
and  faithfulness  of  the  nurses,  in  the  several  wards,  were  greatly 
promoted  by  this  system.  Fortunately  for  the  experiment  it  had 
the  hearty  approval  of  the  surgeon  in  charge  ;  and  it  is  due  to 
him,  as  well  as  the  supervisor  of  nurses,  to  say  that  probably,  in 
no  hospital  in  the  United  States,  was  the  nursing  of  the  sick  and 
wounded  brought  to  greater  perfection  than  here. 


74 

Auxiliary  to  this  system  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society  also  estab 
lished  a  special  diet  kitchen,  in  one  of  the  buildings  in  the  amphi 
theatre,  which  is  wholly  conducted  by  members  of  that  society, 
provided  with  delicacies  for  the  sick,  wines,  stimulants,  &c.,  to 
which  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  also  contributes,  and  from 
this  kitchen  any  delicate  food  needed  for  the  very  sick  can  always 
be  ordered,  by  the  surgeons,  and  be  immediately  prepared. 

For  a  few  months  of  the  autumn  of  :63,  Surgeon  Russell  was  relieved 
by  Surgeon  J.  H.  Grove,  U.  S.  V.,  who  conducted  the  institution 
on  the  same  principles,  and  under  whom  it  maintained  the  same  high 
character. 

In  the  winter  of  1863-4  Benton  Barracks  became  a  recruiting  station 
for  colored  troops  ;  hospital  accommodations  were  needed  for  the  sick 
of  the  colored  regiments  ;  several  of  the  wards  were  appropriated  for 
their  use  ;  and  Dr.  Grove,  having  been  assigned  to  another  position 
of  responsibility  and  trust,  Dr.  Russell  was  again  placed  in  charge. 
Under  his  management  the  institution  still  maintains  its  original 
character  ;  the  female  nurses  act  under  Miss  Parsons,  as  supervisor  ; 
the  special  diet  kitchen  is  still  maintained,  in  charge  of  Mrs.  Shepard 
Wells,  of  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society  ;  and  the  sick  soldiers, 
whether  of  the  white  troops  or  of  the  regiments  of  African  descent, 
each  occupying  separate  wards,  are  treated  with  the  care  and  kind 
attention  due  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Union. 

Besides  the  general  hospital,  there  is  also  a  post  hospital  at  Benton 
Barracks,  likewise  in  charge  of  Surgeon  Russell.  During  the  fall  of 
1863,  and  winter  of  '64,  many  of  the  sick  of  the  new  colored  regi 
ments  were  treated  here.  The  whole  number  of  patients  received 
was  6140,  and  the  per  centage  of  deaths  8  2-10.  Female  nurses  are 
provided  for  this  hospital  by  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  the 
Government  only  allowing  them  to  the  general  hospitals. 

At  Memphis,  by  direction  of  Assistant  Surgeon  General  Wood, 
several  additional  hospitals  were  fitted  up  there  in  tire  winter  and 


75 

spring  of  1863.  They  were  generally  the  largest  and  best  buildings 
in  the  city,  having  been  originally  designed  lor  hotels,  or  blocks  of 
stores,  four  and  five  stories  high.  These  hospitals  were  named  the 
Overtoil,  Washington,  Gayoso,  Jackson,  Jefferson,  Marine,  Webster, 
Union,  Gangrene,  and  Officers',  and  were  capable  of  accommodating 
about  5000  sick  and  wounded  men.  During  the  summer  of  '63, 
while  Gen.  Grant's  army  was  operating  against  Vicksburg,  and  after 
the  fall  of  that  city,  these  hospitals  were  filled,  and  there  was  a 
constant  demand  for  sanitary  stores.  Maj.  T.  P.  Eobb,  of  Illinois, 
acted  as  a  Sanitary  agent  for  that  State,  and  also  for  the  Western 
Sanitary  Commission,  and  distributed  largely  both  to  the  regiments 
encamped  at  Memphis,  and  to  the  hospitals. 

Many  commissioned  officers  having  been  wounded  at  the  battles  of 
Vicksburg,  were  also  without  their  pay,  and  were  not  allowed  by 
regulations  the  ordinary  accommodations  of  enlisted  men.  Their 
condition  being  made  known  to  the  Commission,  it  furnished  a 
complete  outfit  of  every  thing  necessary  for  a  hospital  of  one  hun 
dred  beds,  called  the  Officers'  hospital. 

The  United  States  Sanitary  Commission  also  maintained  a  well- 
supplied  agency  at  Memphis,  in  charge  of  Dr.  H.  A.  Warriner,  an 
able  and  efficient  officer,  who  had  a  general  supervision  of  the  work 
of  that  Commission,  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  often  acted  in 
friendly  co-operation  with  the  agents  of  the  Western  Commission. 

During  the  same  winter  and  spring  the  large  and  splendid  steamer 
"  City  of  Alton,'''  was  used  as  a  floating  hospital,  being  fitted  up  for 
this  purpose;  and  the  steamer  "Ruth"  of  equal  dimensions  and  mag 
nificence,  (since  destroyed),  the  steamer  "  Glasgow,"  and  a  number 
of  smaller  boats  were  likewise  used  as  transports  for  conveying  the 
sick  and  wounded  from  the  Lower  Mississippi  to  the  hospitals  at  Mem 
phis  and  St.  Louis.  Besides  these,  the  large  and  commodious  floating 
hospital  "  Nashville"  was  fitted  up  so  as  to  accommodate  one  thousand 
patients,  and  located  permanently  near  Milliken's  Bend,  in  charge  04 


76 

Surgeon  L.  D.  Strawbridge,  U.  S.  A. ;  and  the  hospital  steamers  "  City 
of  Memphis,"  and  "1).  A.  January,"  capable  of  accommodating  twelve 
hundred  more,  were  under  the  order  of  the  Medical  Director,  either 
for  transportation  to  hospitals,  or  for  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded 
for  any  length  of  time  that  might  be  needed  there.  The  Medical  Pur 
veyor  also  had  a  boat  set  apart  exclusively  for  medical  supplies  of  all 
kinds,  with  cots  and  bedding  sufficient  to  extemporize  several  other 
floating  hospitals,  in  case  of  necessity.  Two  large  boats  were  likewise 
turned  over  to  the  United  States  and  Western  Sanitary  Commissions, 
whose  agents  were  constantly  receiving  and  distributing  supplies.  No 
army  was  ever  better  provided  for  than  the  army  of  Gan.  Grant  at  this 
period,  and  to  these  efforts  to  keep  up  the  health  and  vigor  of  the 
troops  was  due  much  of  that  courage  and  endurance  which  resulted 
in  the  splendid  victories  that  crowned  our  arms,  in  the  series  of  great 
battles  fought  at  Fort  Gibson,  Raymond,  Jackson,  Champion  Hills, 
the  Big  Black  river,  and  before  the  entrenchments  of  Vicksburg,  to 
the  fall  of  that  city. 

When  at  last  this  Gibraltar  of  the  enemy  fell  into  our  possession, 
with  thirty  thousand  prisoners  of  war,  there  were  many  sick  and 
wounded  men  in  the  camps  and  hospitals  around  the  city.  These  had 
still  to  be  cared  for  and  brought  up  the  river,  away  from  the  heats 
of  summer  in  that  Southern  latitude. 

At  the  time  of  Gen.  Grant's  investment  of  Vicksburg,  and  the  two 
unsuccessful  assaults  made  on  the  rebel  works  on  the  19th  and  the  22d 
of  May,  there  were  four  thousand  five  hundred  of  our  brave  troops 
wounded.  The  President  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  made 
a  second  visit  at  that  time  in  charge  of  the  steamer  "  Champion" 
loaded  with  commissary  and  sanitary  stores.  A  large  portion  of  the 
sanitary  goods,  and  many  tons  of  ice,  having  been  furnished  by  the 
merchants  of  St.  Louis,  Mr.  Yeatman,  on  his  return,  publishhd  a 
report  of  his  visit,  in  which  he  says : 

"  On  the  evening  of  the  26th  of  May  I  left  here  on   I  ae  steamer 


77 

"  Champion"  accompanied  by  a  corps  of  surgeons,  nurses  and  dressers 
of  wounds,  numbering  fifty-five  in  all,  with  some  two  hundred  and  fifty 
tuns  of  sanitary  supplies,  besides  cots,  mattrasses,  and  every  thing 
necessary  for  taking  care  of  a  thousand  wounded  men,  in  case  of  ne 
cessity,  the  latter  articles  having  been  furnished  by  order  of  the 
Assistant  Surgeon  General  K.  C.  Wood. 

"We  did  not  arrive  at  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  near  Vicksburg,  until 
the  evening  of  the  31st  of  May,  where  we  found  that  the  number 
of  the  wounded  had  been  greatly  exaggerated,  the  actual  number 
not  exceeding  four  thousand  five  hundred.  The  arrangements  of 
the  Medical  Department  were  most  excellent,  and  the  transportation 
of  the  sick  and  wounded,  on  the  hospital  steamer,  "  D.  A.  January ," 
in  charge  of  Surgeon  A.  H.  Huff',  were  most  perfect.  I  found  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  wounded,  who  required  attention,  and  who  could 
be  removed,  had  been  attended  to.  Of  those  who  had  been  thus 
cared  for  there  were  about  1,900;  and  about  2,000  more,  who  were 
but  slightly  wounded,  were  treated  in  division  hospitals,  together 
with  a  few  hundred  who  were  too  severely  wounded  to  be  moved. 
The  division  hospitals  were  being  consolidated  with  the  army  corps 
hospitals,  which  were  to  be  placed  in  shady,  sequestered  spots,  where 
an  abundance  of  pure,  fresh  water  could  be  had. 

"  The  wounded  being  so  well  provided  for  it  was  not  necessary 
that  our  steamer  should  be  used  for  hospital  purposes  ;  the  hospi 
tal  beds,  bedding,  and  supplies  were  turned  over  to  the  proper 
medical  officers,  and  the  dressers  of  wounds  and  nurses  were  placed 
where  they  could  be  most  useful,  some  of  them  in  hospitals  and 
others  on  hospital  steamers.  By  the  time  we  arrived  at  Vicksburg 
all  sanitary  stores  had  become  completely  exhausted,  and  the  new 
supplies,  in  my  charge,  were  greatly  needed.  They  were  at  once 
placed  in  the  hands  of  our  Agent,  Mr.  A.  W.  Plattenburg,  by 
whom  they  were  distributed,  most  liberally,  whenever  they  were 
most  wanted.  Blessings  were  invoked,  by  both  Surgeons  and  men, 


78 

for  this  timely  care  in  providing  for  them,  in  the  great  extremity 
which  always  succeeds  a  series  of  battles,  and  which  can  only  be 
fully  provided  for  in  this  way.  No  parched  and  thirsty  soil  ever 
drank  the  dews  of  heaven,  with  more  avidity,  than  did  those 
wounded  men  receive  the  beneficent  gifts  and  comforts,  sent  to 
them  through  this  Commission." 

The  number  of  articles  sent  to  Gen.  Grant's  army  from  the  Western 
Commission  during  the  month  of  June,  preceding  the  fall  of  Vicks- 
burg,  was  114,697,  consisting  of  3,090  hospital  shirts,  3,080  hospital 
drawers,  1,260  sheets,  4,400  bandages,  2,412  bottles  of  Catawba  wine, 
1,337  cans  of  fresh  fruit,  1,976  cans  of  condensed  milk,  10,000  lemons, 
1,600  gallons  of  lager  beer,  5,477  Ibs.  dried  apples,  2,400  Ibs.  dried 
peaches,  2,088  Ibs.  codfish,  1,850  Ibs.  herring,  11,710  Ibs.  crackers, 
23,060  Ibs.  ice,  1,800  chickens,  3,171  dozen  eggs,  3,068  Ibs.  butter, 
1,840  Ibs.  corn  meal,  3,145  bushels  potatoes,  2,500  fans,  6,004  books 
and  pamphlets,  and  of  the  following  articles  in  similar  proportions  : 
Blankets,  pillows,  socks,  slippers,  handkerchiefs,  towels,  Ibs.  of  rags, 
Ibs.  of  lint,  eye  shades,  oil  silk  pads,  pin  cushions,  rolls  of  adhesive 
plaster,  tourniquets,  crutches,  back  rests,  close  stools,  spit  cups, 
sponges,  splints,  air  beds,  bottles  of  whisky,  bottles  of  brandy, 
bottles  of  Catawba  bitters,  bottles  of  ginger  wine,  bottles  of  cassia 
syrup,  bottles  of  blackb3rry  syrup,  Ibs.  of  farina,  Ibs.  of  corn  starch, 
Ibs.  of  oat  meal,  Ibs.  of  arrowroot,  Ibs.  of  tapioca,  Ibs.  of  sago,  Ibs. 
of  pinola,  Ibs.  of  flaxseed,  Ibs.  of  cassia,  Ibs.  of  allspice,  Ibs.  of  mus 
tard,  Ibs.  of  nutmegs,  Ibs.  of  pepper,  bottles  of  pepper  sauce,  bottles 
of  horseradish,  bottles  of  tomato  catsup,  bottles  of  cranberry  sauce, 
bottles  of  flavoring  extracts,  cans  of  clams  and  oysters,  cans  of  spiced 
tripe,  cans  of  jelly,  cans  of  condensed  soup,  cans  of  cocoa  paste,  Ibs. 
of  chocolate,  cans  of  portable  lemonade,  gallons  of  ale,  bottles  of  drugs, 
bottles  of  extract  of  ginger,  Ibs.  of  dried  small  fruit,  Ibs.  of  dried 
beef,  Ibs.  of  extract  of  beef,  Ibs.  of  mackerel,  Ibs.  of  cheese,  Ibs.  of 
bread,  Ibs.  of  zwieback,  Ibs.  of  coffee,  Ibs,  of  tea,  Ibs.  of  sugar,  Ibs. 


79 

of  sour  krout,  gallons  of  pickles,  gallons  of  vinegar,  bottles  of  fine 
pickles,  ibs.  of  carbonate  of  soda,  Ibs.  of  saleratus,  Ibs.  of  citric  acid, 
Ibs.  of  castile  soap,  Cook's  Manual,  stationery,  faucets,  combs  and 
brushes,  Ibs.  of  hops,  Ibs.  of  tobacco,  bread  trays,  water  coolers, 
scales,  cooking  stoves,  brooms,  tin  cups,  tin  basins,  tin  plates,  tin 
boilers,  tin  buckets,  tin  dippers,  tin  skimmers,  coffee  pots,  tea  pots, 
spoons,  stew  pans,  cork  screws,  knives  and  forks,  and  iron  boilers. 

Fortunate  was  it  for  these  brave  men  that  so  much  preparation 
and  provision  had  been  made  for  their  comfort,  and  that  loving  hearts 
and  kind  hands  had  labored  for  them  at  home,  sending  contributions 
and  agents,  and  volunteer  surgeons  and  nurses,  after  them,  wherever 
the  fortunes  of  war  had  led  them,  to  assist  in  binding  up  their  wounds, 
in  nursing  them  when  sick,  and  in  making  them  whole.  On  the  fall 
of  Vicksburg,  on  the  following  4th  of  July,  none  rejoiced  more  than 
these  untitled  heroes,  in  the  celebration  of  that  day,  by  so  great  a  vic 
tory,  and  none  were  more  worthy  to  claim  their  share  of  its  honors, 
and  to  partake  in  the  glory  of  this,  the  greatest  achievement  of 
the  war. 


C  II  A  P  T  E  R     VIII. 

SOLDIERS'  HOMES  AT  COLUMBUS,  KY.,  MEMPHIS,  VICKSBURG,  AND  HELENA— OVER 
L">(),000  SOLDIER  GUESTS  ENTERTAINED— FURTHER  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ST.  Louis 
HOSPITALS— WHOLE  NUMBER  OF  PATIENTS  TREATED— NUMBER  OF  DEATHS— PER 

CENTAGE    OF   DEATHS — THE     MILITARY    PRISONS     AT     ST.     LOUIS    AND   ALTON,     ILL. — 

HUMANE  TREATMENT  OF  SICK  PRISONERS. 


ON  Mr.  Yeatman's  first  visit  to  the  army  of  Gen.  Grant,  in  the 
winter  of  '63,  he  became  satisfied  of  the  necessity  of  Soldiers'  Homes 
at  Memphis,  Term.,  and  Columbus,  Ky.,  where  there  Avere  many 
troops  stationed,  and  many  others  constantly  arriving-,  either  going- 
home  discharged,  or  on  furlough  to  visit  their  friends,  or  returning 
to  their  regiments,  being  frequently  without  means  to  pay  hotel 
expenses,  and  needing  a  place  of  refreshment  and  rest.  The  change 
of  transportation  from  the  river  to  the  railroads,  leading  to  Jackson 
and  Corinth,  made  this  the  more  necessary. 

On  the  13th  of  February,  '63,  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  Memphis  was 
opened  for  the  reception  of  guests.  According  to  previous  arrange 
ment  made  by  the  President  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission 
with  Gen.  T.  C.  Hamilton,  then  in  command  of  the  16th  army  corps, 
the  large  residence  on  Beal  street,  known  as  the  "  Hunt  Mansion,'' 
was  turned  over  to  Mr.  O.  E.  Waters,  as  agent  of  the  Commission, 
for  this  purpose. 

It  had  formerly  been  the  head-quarters  of  Maj.  Gen.  Grant,  and 
more  recently  of  Gen.  Hamilton,  and  was  the  property  of  a  Mr.  Win. 
llichardson  Hunt,  a  very  wealthy  planter,  owning  a  great  number 
of  slaves,  and  now  a  colonel  in  the  rebel  army,  many  of  his  slaves 
still  residing  in  Memphis  and  providing  for  themselves.  He  spent 
over  forty  thousand  dollars  in  building  and  beautifying  this  mansion 


81 

with  its  elegant  grounds,  little  dreaming  that  in  doing  this  he  was 
preparing  so  comfortable  a  home  for  the  soldiers  of  the  Union,  and 
the  defenders  of  the  flag  he  himself  dishonored  by  his  infidelity  and 
treason.  AVlicn  the  city  of  Memphis  was  captured  by  the  United  States 
navy  he  was  among  the  first  to  flee,  with  his  fellow  traitors,  and 
abandon  his  home  and  country  for  an  uncertain  abode  at  Atlanta, 
Georgia. 

AVrhen  the  Home  was  made  ready  for  guests  a  card  was  published 
inviting  the  weary  soldier  to  come  and  partake  of  its  hospitalities,  and 
it  was  not  long  till  the  place  was  much  sought  for,  and  groups  of 
soldiers,  dusty  and  travel-worn,  could  be  seen  occupying  its  piazzas  and 
pleasant  rooms,  or  sitting  beneath  its  evergreen  arbors  and  magnolia 
shades. 

The  Superintendent,  in  his  annual  report,  gives  the  following  account 
of  the  opening  of  the  institution : 

"'Our  first  guests  were  brought  in  by  Mrs.  Governor  Harvey.  She 
found  them  wandering  through  the  streets,  sadly  in  need  of  a  kind 
friend  to  give  them  assistance  and  care.  One  of  them,  a  little  drummer 
boy  of  the  29th  Wisconsin  Infantry,  when  brought  in  and  laid  upon  a 
soft  mattress,  exclaimed,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  'Oh,  how  pleasant 
this  is ! '  Brave  little  drummer  boy !  his  spirit  found  a  brighter  home 
and  a  softer  couch  ere  the  morrow's  sun  arose. 

"During  the  first  three  months  we  were  confined  exclusively  to  the 
care  of  discharged  and  invalid  soldiers,  very  often  having  from  twenty  to 
thirty  helpless  men  at  a  time,  when  papers  must  be  examined,  pay  col 
lected  and  comfortable  transportation  secured,  on  some  steamer  going 
North.  Many  of  these  men  I  found  lying  upon  the  hard  pavements  in 
the  streets,  and  on  the  bluff,  near  the  steamboat  landing,  in  a  helpless 
condition,  with  no  friend  to  assist  them.  Three-fourths  of  them  were 
delayed  here,  from  one  to  eight  weeks,  on  account  of  imperfect  papers. 
If  the  oflicers  in  our  army,  having  this  duty  to  perform,  only  knew 
of  the  suffering  and  anguish  caused  by  their  carelessness,  they  would 
f 


82 

certainly  look  well  to  the  careful  and  correct  execution  of  the 
soldier's  discharge  papers  and  final  statements.  Many  a  weak,  war 
worn  soldier,  with  his  steps  turned  toward  his  Northern  home,  full 
of  bright  anticipations  and  cheering  hopes  that  he  will  soon  be 
mingling  Avith  the  loved  ones  there,  when  told  that  his  papers  are 
defective,  and  rejected  by  the  paymaster,  and  that  they  will  have  to 
be  returned  to  his  regiment  for  correction,  has  felt  his  heart  sink 
within  him,  and  the  radiant  smile  has  passed  away  from  his  face,  in 
the  bitterness  of  his  disappointment.  In  some  instances,  before  their 
papers  have  returned,  they  have  waited,  unable  to  go  home, 
sinking  in  health,  until  their  final  discharge  carne  from  the  court  of 
Heaven,  and,  without  seeing  their  loved  ones  on  earth  again,  they 
went  up  to  their  heavenly  home,  and  their  eternal  reward. 

"  Since  the  Home  was  established,  thirteen  deaths  have  occurred 
within  its  walls.  This  number  is  small,  comparatively,  with  the 
number  of  very  sick  men  we  have  entertained. 

"After  the  first  of  May,  ?63,  soldiers  of  all  classes  were  admitted 
to  the  Home,  and  our  numbers  began  to  increase  rapidly.  The  least 
number  entertained  in  a  single  day  was  six,  and  the  greatest  number 
three  hundred  and  fifty.  After  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  was  over,  and 
our  army  sent  to  other  scenes  of  action,  the  number  of  sick  materially 
decreased,  and  our  attention  was  directed  more  to  the  care  of  well 
men,  providing  food,  transportation,  etc." 

Of  this  class  of  guests  the  number  has  steadily  increased,  and  the 
usefulness  of  the  Home  was  never  greater  than  at  the  present  time. 
From  its  establishment,  February  18th,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864,  the 
whole  number  of  guests  entertained  has  been  25,830,  the  number  of 
meals  furnished  55,894,  and  the  number  of  lodgings  provided  18,986. 
Of  these  guests  the  record  shows  them  to  have  been  largely  Illinois, 
Missouri,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  and  Indiana  troops,  with  considerable  num 
bers  from  Ohio,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  and  other  States.  The  soldiers 
from  Illinois  stopping  at  this  Home,  to  the  1st  of  March,  were  3018; 


83 

from  Missouri,  1,524;  from  Iowa,  1,289;  the  remainder  from  other 
States. 

Besides  the  regular  guests  entertained  here,  often  the  wife,  mother, 
sister,  or  father  of  the  sick  soldier,  accompanying  him  home,  and  hav 
ing  limited  resources,  have  been  received  as  guests,  and  members  of 
the  United  States  Christian  Commission,  engaged  in  the  work  of  min 
istering  to  the  army,  have  also  been  welcomed  to  its  hospitality,  and 
their  religious  services  in  the  house  have  given  it  a  religious  and  moral 
character  that  was  highly  beneficial  to  its  inmates. 

From  the  opening  of  this  Home,  to  the  present  date,  it  has  been  under 
the  superintendence  of  Mr.  O.  E.  Waters,  whose  services  have  been 
constant,  faithful,  and  satisfactory,  in  the  highest  degree.  For  several 
months  he  was  assisted  by  Miss  A.  L.  Ostram,  as  matron,  who  resigned 
her  position  to  fill  a  similar  one  at  Cairo,  Illinois.  She  was  succeeded 
by  Mrs.  Lucy  E.  Starr,  who  has  occupied  the  position  for  nearly  a 
year,  and  has  imparted  so  cheerful  a  spirit  to  the  Home,  and  been  so 
unremitting  in  her  labors  that  her  praise  is  every  where  spoken  by 
those  who  have  been  the  guests  of  the  institution. 

On  the  16th  of  February,  '63,  the  Soldiers'  Home  at  Columbus,  Ky., 
was  opened,  and  has  entertained  many  thousand  soldier  guests.  It 
was  at  first  superintended  by  Mr.  Brown,  and  for  a  short  time  by 
Mr.  Geo.  E.  "\Vyeth,  when  Chaplain  Ephraim  Xute,  became  superinten 
dent  in  the  spring  of  '63,  and  continued  in  charge  till  September  of  the 
same  year,  when  he  went  to  jSTew  Orleans  to  establish  another  Home  for 
the  Commission  in  that  city.*  He  was  succeeded  at  Columbus  by  Mr. 
S.  J.  Orange,  the  present  excellent  and  faithful  superintendent.  The 
first  matron  was  Mrs.  S.  A.  Plummer,  who  was  assisted  by  Miss  Ida 


•The  Soldiers'  Home  at  New  Orleans  was  duly  established  in  October,  18(52,  by 
Mr.  Nute,  acting  as  the  agent  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  under  a  special 
order  from  Maj.  Gen.  Grant.  He  was  provided  with  furniture,  stores,  and  funds  for  this 
pin-pose,  to  the  value  of  several  thousand  dollars,  and  the  Home,  on  its  first  opening,  was 
crowded  with  guests.  Late  in  November  it  was  transferred  to  the  U.  S.  Commission, 
under  whose  auspices  it  is  still  continued.  Rev.  Mr.  Nute,  from  the  date  of  this  transfer) 
ceased  to  be  the  agent  of  the  Western  Commission,  and  soon  after  returned  to  his 
regiment. 


84 

Johnson,  and  to  both  these  ladies  great  praise  is  clue,  lor  their  devotion 
to  the  interests  of  the  Home,  and  their  kind  and  faithful  service  to  the 
soldiers,  who  were  their  guests .  In  August,  '63,  Mrs.  Plummer  was 
transferred  to  the  Soldiers'  Home,  at  Vicksburg,  where  she  has  con 
tinued  as  matron  to  the  present  date.  She  was  succeeded  at  Columbus 
by  Mrs.  Orange,  who  has  performed  the  duties  of  matron  with  the 
utmost  satisfaction.  Many  letters  have  been  received  from  soldiers 
who  have  been  the  guests  of  this  home,  testifying  their  appreciation  of 
the  services  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Orange,  and  their  gratitude  for  the 
kind  hospitalities  received. 

The  whole  number  of  guests  entertained  at  the  Columbus  Home 
from  February  16th,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864,  has  been  52,259,  the 
number  of  meals  furnished,  96,694,  and  the  number  of  lodgings 
provided,  20,315.  The  number  of  troops  from  Illinois,  among  the 
above  guests,  for  the  year  ending  February  16th,  1864,  was  2,243; 
from  Iowa,  888;  from  Wisconsin,  1,211;  from  Missouri,  864;  the 
remainder  being  from  the  other  Western  States. 

The  Soldiers'  Home,  at  Vicksburg,  was  opened  August  6th  1863, 
with  Mr.  E.  K.  Foster  for  Superintendent,  and  Mrs.  S.  A.  Plum 
mer  for  Matron.  On  the  taking  of  this  city,  it  became  the  base 
of  movements  into  the  interior,  and  with  its  garrison  and  the 
moving  of  troops,  and  the  changing  of  transportation  from  the 
river  to  the  land  it  was  foreseen  that  a  Soldiers'  Home  would  be 
necessary  here.  A  large  and  good  building  was  obtained  from  the 
Government  for  the  purpose,  furniture  and  supplies  were  sent  for 
ward  from  St.  Louis,  sufficient  for  two  hundred  guests,  and  from 
the  opening  of  the  institution  to  the  present  date,  it  has  been  crowded 
to  its  utmost  capacity. 

Mr.  Foster  continued  in  charge  till  the  28th  of  November,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Mr.  N.  M.  Mann,  the  present  competent  and 
excellent  superintendent.  Mr.  Foster  continued  to  act  as  Sanitary 
agent  for  the  Commission,  at  Vicksburg,  from  the  transfer  of  Mr. 


85 

Plattenburg  to  tlie  15th  army  corps,  till  in   January,    1864,  when  lie 
was  transferred  to  Helena,  Ark.,  to  open  a  Home  at  that  place. 

Mrs.  Plummer  has  continued  to  act  as  matron  of  the  Vicksburg 
Home  from  the  beginning,  and  devoted  herself  to  its  duties  with  her 
usual  zeal  and  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  soldiers.  She  has  been 
ably  assisted  in  her  labors  by  Miss  Hattie  Wiswall,  assistant  matron, 
another  of  the  excellent  and  devoted  women,  who  have  been  untiring 
in  their  services  to  our  brave  defenders  in  arms,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  war.  For  many  months  this  Home  has  also  enjoyed  the  volun 
tary  labors  of  Mrs.  Governor  Harvey,  of  Wisconsin,  who,  finding  it 
crowded  with  guests,  has  lent  a  helping  hand  in  its  management, 
besides  giving  much  of  her  time  and  energy  to  the  interests  of  the 
poor  freedmen  and  their  families,  and  to  the  destitute  Union  refugees. 
Mr.  Mann  has  also  labored  most  efficiently  for  these  people,  of  which 
an  account  will  be  given  in  a  chapter  devoted  to  that  subject. 

The  number  of  soldiers  entertained  at  the  Vicksburg  Home,  from 
August  6th,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864,  has  been  49,738;  the  number  of 
meals  furnished  81,144,  and  the  number  of  lodgings  provided  30,882. 
Of  the  guests  for  six  months,  3,866  have  been  from  Illinois  regiments ; 
1,919  from  Iowa  regiments;  829  from  Wisconsin  regiments;  451  from 
Missouri  regiments;  the  rest  being  from  other  States. 

There  have  also  been  entertained  at  this  Home  quite  a  number  of 
persons,  laboring  as  agents  and  teachers  to  the  freedmen,  and  mem 
bers  of  the  Christian  Commission,  who,  being  engaged  in  a  similar 
work  of  benevolence  and  Christianity,  and  the  city  being  without 
sufficient  hotel  accommodations,  have  been  welcomed,  from  time  to 
time,  to  its  hospitalities. 

On  February  llth,  1864,  another  Soldiers'  Home  was  opened  at 
Helena,  Ark.  Having1  a  large  army  in  Arkansas,  and  many  troops 
passing  through  Helena,  on  their  way  to  and  from  their  regiments,  it 
was  deemed  advisable,  with  the  concurrence  of  Brig.  Gen.  X.  B. 
Buford,  commanding  that  post,  to  establish  a  Homo  there.  In  this 


80 

work  Gen.  Buford  and  his  excellent  lady  afforded  much  aid,  and  one 
of  the  churches  of  the  place  having  been  assigned  for  the  purpose, 
with  new  buildings  erected  for  office  room,  kitchen,  and  dining  hall, 
the  institution  was  soon  comfortably  fitted  up  with  bedsteads,  beds, 
bedding,  kitchen  furniture,  stores,  etc.,  sent  from  the  Western  Com 
mission,  and  was  immediately  filled  with  guests.  For  a  brief  period 
Mr.  K.  K.  Foster  acted  as  superintendent,  when  he  returned  to  St. 
Louis,  and  Rev.  John  I.  Herrick,  chaplain  of  the  29th  Wisconsin 
infantry,  being  on  detached  service  at  Helena,  was  detailed  by  Gen. 
liuford,  at  the  request  of  the  Commission,  to  act  as  superintendent, 
and  continues  in  charge  at  this  date.  Mrs.  II.  A.  Haines,  an  expe 
rienced  and  capable  person,  was  sent  down  to  be  matron,  and  has 
filled  the  position  thus  far  very  successfully,  and  with  entire  satisfaction 
to  the  Commission.  During  the  three  months  the  Home  has  been 
established,  it  has  entertained  3527  guests,  furnished  8062  meals,  and 
and  provided  3162  lodgings. 

Summing  up  the  statistics  of  all  these  Homes,  including  the  one  at 
St.  Louis,  it  will  be  found  that  there  have  been  entertained  in  them 
152,200  soldier  guests,  327,786  meals  furnished,  and  96,635  lodgings 
provided,  and  that  of  this  number  there  have  been  14,703  guests  from 
Illinois  regiments,  7,359  from  Missouri  regiments,  and  8,711  from 
Iowa  regiments,  up  to  March  1st,  1864,  the  remainder  being  divided 
among  soldiers  from  Indiana,  Ohio,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota, 
Kansas,  Nebraska,  Colorado,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
and  the  U.  S.  regulars. 

Besides  the  hospitals  of  St.  Louis,  of  which  a  previous  account  has 
been  given,  there  are  two  Post  hospitals,  one  on  Hickory  street,  and 
the  other  at  Benton  Barracks,  the  Gratiot  Prison  hospital,  and  the 
Small-pox  hospital  on  Duncan's  Island.  The  first  of  these  was 
originally  a  General  hospital,  and  there  was  formerly  a  Post  hospital 
at  Schofield  Barracks,  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  on  Chouteau  Avenue, 
which  was  consolidated  with  it  November  1st,  1863.  The  whole 


87 

number  of  patients  received  at  Hickory  street,  to  that  date,  was  1826, 
and  the  per  centage  of  deaths  was  6  1-10,  and  at  Schofield  Barracks 
the  number  of  patients  received  was  206,  and  the  per  centage  of  deaths 
4  3-10.  At  the  Military  Prison  hospital,  in  McDowell's  College, 
Gratiot  street,  the  number  of  patients  received  to  May  1st,  '64,  is 
3,514,  and  the  per  centage  of  deaths  11  4-10.  The  surgeon  in  charge 
is  B.  B.  Breed,  U.  S.  V.  The  number  of  patients  received  at  the 
Small-pox  hospital  to  June  1st,  '63,  was  871,  and  the  per  centage  of 
deaths  22  9-10.  The  number  of  prisoners  received  at  the  same  institu 
tion,  for  the  same  period,  was  162,  and  the  per  centage  of  deaths  34  1-2. 
The  great  mortality  of  prisoners  in  this  hospital,  and  at  McDowell's 
College,  Gratiot  street,  was  owing  largely  to  the  neglected  and  ex 
hausted  condition  in  which  they  fell  into  our  hands.  Xo  statistics 
have  been  received  from  this  institution,  for  this  work,  although 
requested  of  the  surgeon  in  charge. 

The  number  of  patients  treated  at  the  Post  hospital  on  Hickory 
street,  from  November  1st,  1863,  to  May  1st,  1864,  is  1,412,  and  the 
per  centage  of  deaths  2  9-10.  The  institution  is  in  charge  of  Frank 
W.  White,  M.  D.,  A.  A.  Surgeon,  U.  S.  A. 

The  Good  Samaritan,  the  Fifth  street,  the  Elliott,  and  the  New 
House  of  Refuge  hospitals,  having  been  discontinued,  the  statistics 
of  them  may  be  found  in  the  second  Annual  Report  of  the  Commis 
sion,  June  1st,  1863. 

The  whole  number  of  patients  treated  in  the  hospitals  of  St.  Louis, 
including  those  at  Jefferson  and  Benton  Barracks,  up  to  May  1st,  ?64, 
is  61,744,  the  number  that  have  died  is  5,684,  and  the  per  centage  of 
deaths  9  1-10. 

The  military  prisons  of  St.  Louis  have,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  received  the  constant  attention  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Com 
mission,  and  sanitary  stores  have  been  issued  to  them  in  all  cases  of 
urgent  need,  upon  the  requisitions  of  the  surgeon  in  charge. 


88 

In  November,  1862,  the  hospital  of  Gratiot  Street  Prison,  iu  Mc 
Dowell's  College,  used  exclusively  for  prisoners  of  Avar,  was  found  to 
be  much  crowded,  and  the  building  also  needed  a  thorough  renovation 
and  cleansing.  The  facts  were  reported  to  Maj.  (-Jen.  Curtis,  then 
commanding  the  department,  and  the  crowded  condition  both  of  the 
prison  and  the  hospital,  was  obviated  by  sending  a  considerable  num 
ber  to  the  large  military  prison  at  Alton,  Illinois.  The  Commission 
then  had  the  whole  interior  of  the  prison  and  hospital  thoroughly 
cleansed  and  whitewashed,  by  wards,  and  the  condition  of  things  was 
much  improved.  Assistant  Surgeon  General  Wood  also  assigned  two 
surgeons  to  the  prison,  and  made  its  hospital  entirely  separate,  with 
its  own  arrangements  complete. 

The  Commission  made  an  effort  at  the  same  time  to  induce  the  gov 
ernment  to  rent  other  and  larger  buildings  for  a  military  hospital,  but 
the  necessity  having  in  a  measure  ceased,  with  a  removal  of  a  part 
of  the  patients  to  Alton,  it  was  not  successful. 

The  Myrtle  Street  Prison,  in  which  military  offences  by  United  States 
troops  are  punished,  was  also  thoroughly  inspected  at  the  same  time, 
and  measures  of  improvement  were  carried  into  effect. 

The  Commission  has  extended  its  inspections  to  the  military 
prison  at  Alton,  Illinois,  and  furnished  supplies,  to  most  urgent  cases 
of  need,  on  the  requisition  of  the  surgeon  in  charge.  This  prison  is 
the  same  formerly  occupied  as  the  Illinois  State  Penitentiary,  which 
was  removed  to  Joliet,  just  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  It 
has  a  large  area  of  ground,  420  by  323  feet,  enclosed  by  a  high  stone 
wall,  with  the  prison  buildings  inside,  is  in  a  healthy  location,  within 
a  few  rods  of  the  Mississippi  river,  on  the  east  side,  has  good  water, 
excellent  drainage,  a  free  circulation  of  pure  air,  and  could  not  be  better 
adapted  to  the  purposes  for  which  it  is  used. 

A  committee  from  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  visited  it  in 
December,  1862,  and  in  a  published  report  of  the  visit,  said,  ""We 


80 

found  the  hospital  to  be  a  good,  brick  structure,  104  by  35  feet,  well 
ventilated,  but  insufficiently  warmed.  It  contains  sixty-three  patients. 
Many  of  the  sick  were  needing  proper  under-clothing.  Most  of  the 
buildings  in  the  enclosure  stand  isolated,  with  considerable  ground 
between  them,  so  that  in  a  moral  and  sanitary  point  of  view,  they  are 
very  favorably  situated.  The  prisoners  are  furnished  abundantly  with 
good  wholsonie  food,  and  they  appear  to  be  entirely  satisfied  with  the 
kind  treatment  of  officers  and  attendants.  The  clothes  of  the  prisoners 
are  washed  outside  the  walls,  by  laundresses,  paid  out  of  the  prison 
funds.  There  is  also  a  washing  apparatus  on  the  ground,  with  a  plen 
tiful  supply  of  hot  water,  and  soap,  which  is  freely  resorted  to  by 
the  inmates." 

There  were  then  700  prisoners  confined  in  this  prison,  with  accom 
modations  for  1,300.  Since  then,  it  has  frequently  contained  over  one 
thousand.  During  a  recent  visit  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commission,  he 
found  the  hospital  in  an  excellent  condition,  in  charge  of  Surgeon  T.  A. 
Worrell,  U.S.Y.,  Dr.  Hez.  Williams,  A.  A.  Surgeon,  with  beds  for  three 
hundred  patients ;  the  floors  clean,  and  the  arrangements  similar  to  the 
military  hospitals  for  our  own  troops.  There  were  120  sick  prisoners 
out  of  1000,  then  in  prison.  The  four  female  nurses  in  attendance  Avere 
Sisters  of  Charity.  A  chaplain  is  also  allowed  the  prison,  Rev.  Father 
Vehay,  of  the  Catholic  church.  A  supply  of  sanitary  stores  has  been 
recently  sent  to  the  Surgeon  in  charge,  on  his  requisition.  The  small 
pox  patients  are  treated  in  tents,  on  the  island,  just  opposite  Alton. 
There  were  recently  but  few  cases  of  this  disease. 

Those  who  die  in  this  prison,  are  buried  in  a  ground  about  two  miles 
out  of  the  city,  set  apart  especially  for  that  purpose.  They  are  fur 
nished  with  a  coffin,  the  same  as  the  Union  soldier,  and  are  in  all 
respects  decently  interred.  Head  boards,  with  the  initials  of  their 
names  are  placed  at  each  grave,  so  that  there  can  be  no  difficulty  iden 
tifying  the  spot. 


90 

The  statistics  of  the  prison  and  hospital  were  recently  requested,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  a  more  complete  statement  for  this  work,  but 
were  refused  by  Brig.  Gen.  Copeland,  commanding  the  post.  It  is 
believed  that  the  facts  would  show  that  this  prison  and  its  hospital 
have  been  conducted  in  a  manner  creditable  to  the  humanity  of  the 
United  States  Government,  and  would  convey,  by  contrast,  a  terrible 
rebuke  to  the  inhumanity  with  which  our  soldiers  have  been  starved 
and  treated  in  the  prisons  of  the  South. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

SANITARY  STORES  SENT  TO  THE  ARMY  OF  GEN.  DAVIDSON,  AT  BLOOMFIELD,  Mo.— 
PART  OK  THEM  CAPTURED  BY  GUERRILLAS — NARROW  ESCAPE  or  THE  AGENT — 
STORES  SENT  TO  THE  ARMY  OF  GEN.  STEELE,  AT  DUVALL'S  BLUFF  AND  LITTLE 
ROCK — AGENCY  ESTABLISHED  AT  LITTLE  ROCK — ACKNOWLEDGMENTS — STORES  SENT 
TO  FORT  BLUNT,  CHEROKEE  NATION — ACKNOWLEDGMENT — STORES  SENT  TO  COLOR 
ED  TROOPS  AT  MILLIKEN'S  BEND,  GOODRICH 's  LANDING,  AND  VICKSBURG — LET 
TERS  OF  REV.  DR.  ELIOT  AND  MR.  YEATMAN  —  BOOKS  AND  INSTRUCTION  FURNISH 
ED  TO  COLORED  TROOPS  AT  BENTON  BARRACKS  —  LETTER  FROM  COL.  A.  WATSON 
WEBBER —  STORES  SENT  TO  NASHVILLE  AND  MURFREESBORO,  TENN. —AGENCY  AT 
HUNTSVILLE,  ALA. — STORES  SENT  TO  THE  NAVAL  FLOTILLA — VETERAN  REGIMENTS 
ENTERTAINED  AT  ST.  Louis — STORES  TO  THE  33o  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY — ACKNOW 
LEDGMENT—STORES  TO  BANKS'  ARMY  ON  RED  RIVER  — SEVERAL  IMPORTANT  QUES 
TIONS  ANSWERED— Do  THE  SOLDIERS  GET  ANY  OF  THE  SANITARY  STORES?  — IL 
LUSTRATIONS —  ACCOUNTABILITY  OF  AGENTS — HOSPITALS,  REGIMENTS,  HOSPITAL 
STEAMERS  AND  GUNBOATS  SUPPLIED  WITH  SANITARY  STORES — LIST  OF  FEMALE 
NURSES  WHO  HAVE  PROVED  THEIR  WORTH  IN  THE  HOSPITALS  OF  SAINT  Louis. 


DURING  the  month  of  August,  1863,  Brig1.  Gen.  Davidson,  command 
ing1  a  force  of  cavalry,  was  stationed  at  Bloomfield,  Mo.,  preparatory 
to  a  movement  on  Little  Rock.  His  sick  were  to  be  left  at  that  place, 
in  hospital,  and,  in  accordance  with  his  request,  the  Commission  sent 
an  agent  there,  Mr.  H.  J.  Waterman,  with  a  large  supply  of  sanitary 
stores.  On  the  way  from  Cape  Girardeau  to  Bloomfield,  with  a  com 
missary  train,  in  which  six  of  the  wagons  were  loaded  with  the  stores 
of  the  Commission,  the  train  was  attacked,  while  encamped  at  night, 
by  a  band  of  guerrillas  of  the  enemy,  twelve  soldiers  and  teamsters 
were  killed,  the  mules  were  carried  off,  and  the  wagons,  commissary 
stores,  and  sanitary  goods  set  fire  to  and  burned,  with  the  exception 
of  two  wagons,  which  happened  to  contain  sanitary  stores.  The 
guerrillas  then  made  their  escape,  and  Mr.  Waterman,  with  the  captain 
of  the  train,  who  had  narrowly  escaped,  proceeded  on  the  next  day 
to  Bloomfield,  in  a  very  crippled  condition.  On  arriving  there,  what 
was  left  of  the  sanitary  stores  were  distributed  to  the  sick,  in  hospital, 


where  they  were  much  needed,  and  most  thankfully  received,  and 
Mr.  Waterman  returned  to  Cape  Girardcau,  where  he  had  left  about 
half  of  his  original  supply,  being  unable  to  procure  transportation. 

Previous  to  his  reaching  Bloomtield,  Gen.  Davidson  had  moved  on, 
towards  Little  liock,  with  his  available  forces,  and  as  it  was  now 
known  that  Maj.  Gen.  Steele  was  about  to  move  from  Helena,  with  a 
large  force,  to  the  same  point,  it  was  deemed  advisable,  by  the  Com 
mission,  that  a  permanent  agent  should  accompany  this  expedition. 
Mr.  Waterman  was  accordingly  ordered  to  proceed,  from  Cape 
Girardeau,  with  his  stores,  to  Helena,  by  the  river,  and  there  join 
the  command  of  Gen.  Steele.  On  his  arrival  at  Helena,  the  expedition 
had  moved  as  far  as  Clarendon,  on  White  river,  and  the  weather  being 
warm,  it  was  reported  that  already  there  were  many  sick  at  that 
point.  Mr.  Waterman,  with  difficulty,  procured  transportation,  and 
reached  Clarendon,  where,  being  himself  taken  very  sick,  with  an 
attack  of  fever,  he  turned  over  his  stores  to  the  Medical  Director, 
Surgeon  James  C.  Whitehill,  and  returned  home. 

In  the  meantime  the  Commission  had  forwarded  additional  supplies 
for  this  expedition,  which  were  on  the  way  to  Helena,  to  be  re- 
shipped  there  up  White  river  to  Clarendon.  Another  agent,  Mr. 
George  M.  Wyeth,  who  had  been  sent  to  Helena  to  act  at  that  point, 
was  now  sent  forward  to  take  the  place  of  Mr.  Waterman.  By  the 
urgent  advice  of  Surgeon  Casselberry,  Medical  Director  at  Helena, 
he  proceeded  at  once  to  join  Gen.  Stecle's  army  at  DuvalFs  liluft', 
taking  along  the  sanitary  stores  with  him,  which  had  previously 
arrived  at  Helena,  and  distributing  them  to  the  surgeons,  for  their 
sick,  in  general  hospital,  and  to  the  regimental  hospitals. 

The  army  of  Gen.  Steele  having1  advanced  upon  Little  liock,  the 
capital  of  Arkansas,  and  after  a  battle  with  the  rebel  forces,  under 
Gen.  Price,  captured  the  city,  many  sick  were  still  left  at  DuvalFs 
Bluff,  where  a  general  hospital  had  been  established. 

Better  hospital  accommodations,  however,  were  found  at  Little  Rock, 


03 

which  now  had  become  the  head-quarters  of  the  Army  of  Arkansas, 
and  the  sick  were  soon  removed  and  provided  for  there.  Mr.  Wyeth 
immediately  established  his  agency  at  Little  Rock,  and  distributed  to 
the  hospitals,  and  camps  of  the  army,  according1  to  their  necessities, 
receiving  regular  shipments  of  supplies  from  St.  Louis,  and  fulfilling 
the  duties  of  his  position  with  fidelity  and  success. 

Among  the  testimonials  of  the  great  good  accomplished  by  this 
agency,  a  letter  was  received,  September  30th,  1863,  from  Rev.  E.  S. 
Pcake,  Chaplain  28th  Wisconsin  Infantry,  who  had  assisted  Mr.  "Wycth, 
in  his  work,  in  which  he  says: 

"  The  Sanitary  Commission  has  accomplished  so  much  good  by  pro 
viding  and  forwarding  supplies  of  the  articles  most  needed  for  the 
relief  and  comfort  of  the  sick  in  the  Arkansas  expedition,  that  it  gives 
me  great  pleasure  to  send  a  brief  statement  of  the  facts.  Your  agent. 
Mr.  Wyeth,  arrived  at  Helena  in  time  to  learn  the  wants  of  the  expe 
dition,  and  followed  the  army  up  White  river,  to  Duvall's  Bluff,  where 
our  general  hospital  was  established  under  temporary  sheds.  He 
brought  some  tons  of  sanitary  stores,  and  remained  there,  attending 
to  their  proper  distribution,  until  the  order  was  given  to  remove  all 
the  sick  to  Little  Rock.  These  supplies  have  been  the  means  of  saving 
many  valuable  lives  to  the  army  and  to  the  country. 

"Mr.  Wyeth  visited  Little  Rock  by  the  first  railroad  train  that  came 
through,  and  took  a  tour  of  inspection  through  the  hospitals,  general 
and  regimental,  learning  the  actual  condition  of  the  sick,  and  their 
wants.  He  has  sent  to  us  all  the  supplies  remaining  at  the  Bluff, 
and  has  now  gone  to  Helena,  hoping  to  find  another  shipment  from 
St.  Louis  at  that  point.  The  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission  has  sent 
its  contributions  to  us  through  Dr.  Fithian,  so  that  we  have  been 
able  to  meet  the  call  for  aid,  which  cornes  from  the  hospitals  of  a  large 
army,  in  a  very  satisfactory  degree.  We  look  upon  this,  however,  as 
only  the  beginning  in  a  great  work  of  charity,  which  must  be  con 
tinued  for  several  months  to  come. 


94 

"Let  not  our  friends  be  weary  in  doing  well.  If  they  could  see  the 
good  that  they  are  doing,  and  the  relief  that  their  contributions  afford, 
to  the  sick  and  wounded  in  the  army,  who,  from  their  position,  are 
helpless  and  dependent,  it  would  prove  an  abundant  encouragement 
and  reward.  The  moral  effect  of  this  work  upon  the  army  is  of  great 
importance.  It  makes  men  braver  and  better  soldiers  and  patriots,  to 
see  these  tokens  of  interest,  care,  and  love  following  them  from  their 
homes.*' 

On  the  same  day,  Surgeon  James  C.  Whitehill,  medical  director  at 
Little  Rock,  also  wrote  to  the  President  of  the  Commission : 

"Permit  me  through  Surgeon  J.  T.  Hodgen  to  acknowledge  the 
receipt  of  a  fine  supply  of  sanitary  stores,  and  on  behalf  of  our  sol 
diers  to  thank  you  and  the  generous  donors  for  so  opportune  a  testi 
monial  of  their  and  your  continued  care  and  sympathy.  We  have  had 
a  great  deal  of  sickness,  and  the  country  through  which  we  have 
passed  has  been  able  to  furnish  but  little  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the 
sick  soldier.  I  have  myself  receipted  to  your  agent,  Mr.  "Wyeth,  for 
the  goods  received,  and  placed  them  under  the  care  of  a  most  reliable 
and  worthy  man,  who  attends  to  their  faithful  distribution.  Your  Com 
mission  is  doing  an  inconceivable  amount  of  good  for  our  sick  soldiery- 
and  deserves  the  hearty  co-operation  and  liberal  support  of  Christians 
and  philanthropists." 

During  the  summer  the  Commission  had  also  sent  a  shipment  of 
stores  to  the  colored  soldiers  at  Fort  Blunt,  in  the  Cherokee  country, 
which  was  duly  received  and  acknowledged  by  Surgeon  S.  C.  Harring 
ton,  of  the  1st  Kansas  Colored  Infantry,  in  a  letter,  in  which  he  says : 
"The  goods  were  exceedingly  opportune,  as  there  was  a  great  desti 
tution  of  such  things  here.  Were  it  not  for  your  Commission,  the 
army  must  suffer  greatly  for  want  of  those  things  it  most  needs." 

During  the  autumn  of  '63,  generous  supplies  of  sanitary  stores  were 
sent  to  the  colored  regiments,  at  Milliken's  Bend,  Goodrich's  Landing, 
and  Vicksburg.  In  a  letter  of  Rev.  Dr.  Eliot,  under  date  of  August 


95 

21st,  to  friends  in  Boston,  he  wrote:  "  \Ve  have  the  whole  army  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  to  see  to,  and  a  large  part  of  Gen.  Grant's,  arid 
the  gunboats,  and  the  summer  sickness  are  daily  becoming  worse. 
At  Helena,  where  such  grand  lighting  was  done  on  the  4th  of  July, 
there  are  two  thousand  sick,  left  by  armies  moving  forward.  Gen. 
Steele  writes,  that  he  never  needed  our  services  more  than  now;  and 
from  every  direction  the  claims  come  in  upon  us.  We  are  making 
very  large  shipments  daily,  and  are,  this  week,  under  the  necessity 
of  taking  a  large  additional  store-room  for  our  bulky  stores.'' 

Under  the  same  date,  in  answer  to  inquiries  respecting  colored 
troops,  Mr.  Yeatman  writes:  "We  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
colored  soldiers,  just  as  we  do  for  the  white.  We  have  supplied  a 
number  of  regiments  in  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Kansas,  and  in  this 
city.  The  accounts  we  have  of  them  entitle  them  to  our  confidence." 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1863-4,  Brig.  Gen.  Win.  A.  Pile, 
organized  three  brigades  of  colored  troops,  at  Benton  Barracks,  and 
in  order  that  they  might  have  every  benefit  that  was  possible,  during 
the  period  of  their  organization  and  drill,  the  Commission  purchased 
three  thousand  copies  of  Sargent's  Standard  Primer,  for  their  use,  and 
teachers  were  provided  to  instruct  them  in  reading ;  their  officers  and 
liev.  Wm.  H.  Bradley,  in  the  service  of  the  Commission,  taking  part 
in  this  work.  The  sick  of' these  brigades,  in  hospital,  received  the 
same  treatment  and  attention  as  white  troops;  and  sanitary  stores 
were  supplied,  both  from  the  Commission  and  from  the  Ladies  Union 
Aid  Society,  as  they  were  needed. 

Among  the  acknowledgments  received  from  the  officers  of  colored 
troops,  the  following  is  given,  from  the  colonel  of  the  1st  Mississippi 

Vol.  Infantry,  A.  D.,  dated: 

"  VICK.SBURG,  DEC.  29,  1863. 
"REV.  J.  G.  FOKMAN, 

" Sec'ry   Western  Sanitary  Commission: 

"DEAR  SIR  —  I  forward  enclosed  herewith,  a  receipt  for  sanitary 
stores,  so  kindly  sent  to  my  regiment.  They  will  be  of  great  benefit 


06 

to  my  men,  and  I  am  very  much  obliged  for  so  bountiful  a  supply. 
They  will  perform  a  great  and  needed  good,  not  only  for  the  sick,  but 
for  those  on  duty.  I  cannot  but  regard  the  prevention  of  disease,  by 
suitable  additions  to  the  diet  and  comfort  of  the  men,  as  important  as 
it  is  to  cure  them,  after  they  have  filled  the  hospitals.  I  propose  that 
my  brave  colored  troops  should  have  something  extra  on  New  Year's 
day. 

"  There  is  no  limit  to  the  good  that  can  easily  be  done  for  this  most 
susceptible  people.  How  the  minds  of  men  have  been  blinded  in 
regard  to  them  !  AYhat  outrageous  sins  has  not  our  white  humanity 
to  account  for  !  How  dark  blindness  seems  when  one  has  passed  from 
it  to  the  broad  light  of  day  ! 

"  The    officers    from  the   old   *  Third  Missouri'    send   their   kindest 

regards. 

"  Yours,  very  truly, 

"A.  WATSON  WEBBER, 

"  Colonel  Commanding  " 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1863-4  generous  supplies  were  sent 
by  the  Commission  to  the  Nashville  Branch  of  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid 
Society,  of  St.  Louis,  and  to  Mrs.  Barker,  and  other  ladies,  who  were 
laboring  in  connection  with  the  U.  S.  Christian  Commission,  both 
there  and  at  Mu rf re esbo rough,  Tenn.,  in  the  general  hospitals.  The 
long-tried  and  faithful  agent  of  the  Commission,  Mr.  A.  "W.  Flatten 
burg,  also  went  forward  to  Nashville  with  stores,  and  afterwards  up 
the  Tennessee  river,  as  far  as  Eastpori,  to  Gen.  Sherman's  army,  and 
still  later  established  an  agency  at  Huntsville,  Ala.,  from  which  point 
liberal  supplies  of  sanitary  goods  have  been  furnished  to  the  hospitals, 
and  of  vegetables  to  the  troops,  eliciting  the  warmest  expressions  of 
gratitude. 

In  a  letter  of  Mr.  Flattenburg,  dated  March  4th,  1864,  he  says : 
"The  vegetables   sent  by  the   Commission  were  issued   directly  to 
the  soldiers,  and  a  more  thankful  and  pleased  set  of  men  has  not  been 
seen  since  the  war." 


97 

This  was  at  a  time  of  great  scarcity  of  vegetable  food,  and  when 
the  scurvy  was  making  its  appearance  among  the  troops. 

During  the  recent  winter,  supplies  have  also  been  furnished  to  the 
gunboats,  and  to  the  naval  hospital  steamer,  "  Red  Rover."  Among  the 
goods  sent  were  seventy-five  libraries  of  books,  one  for  each  boat  in  the 
flotilla,  and  seventy-five  sanitary  store  chests  to  the  same  number  of 
vessels,  each  chest  containing  a  good  supply  of  hospital  clothing,  band 
ages,  lint,  adhesive  plaster,  condensed  milk,  farina,  and  other  articles 
useful  to  the  sick. 

On  the  return  of  the  veteran  regiments  of  Missouri  troops,  on  fur 
lough,  to  return  to  the  war  for  another  three  years,  they  have  been 
received  with  a  generous  hospitality  by  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  provided 
for  at  Turners'  Hall,  and  escorted  through  the  city  by  the  Home  G-uards, 
with  marked  honor.  Whenever  they  have  needed  any  thing  from  the 
Sanitary  Commission,  as  they  went  back  to  the  army,  it  has  been  freely 
given.  The  veterans  of  Illinois,  Iowa,  and  other  States,  have  been 
treated  in  like  manner,  as  regards  their  sanitary  wants. 

The  33d  Illinois  infantry,  which  had  been  stationed  in  Texas,  and 
re-enlisted  as  veterans,  on  returning  from  their  furlough,  received  from 
the  Commission  a  sanitary  chest,  filled  with  excellent  stores.  The 
following  acknowledgment  was  afterwards  received,  in  which  there 
are  some  of  the  reminiscences  of  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  given  : 

'•HEADQUARTERS  MEDICAL  DEPARTMENT  U.  S.  FORCES  IN  TEXAS?  ) 

"FORT    ESPERANZA,    MATAGORDA   ISLAND,    Jan.    15,    1864.  \ 

"REV.   J.  G.  FORMAX, 

" Sec'ry  Western  Sanitary  Commission: 

"MY  DEAR  SIR:  Your  timely  supply  of  sanitary  goods  has  been 
received,  and  in  behalf  of  our  noble  soldiers,  I  would  return  to  the 
Commission  our  grateful  thanks  for  this  and  many  other  manifestations 
of  kindness  and  interest  in  our  sick  and  wounded  men.  I  take  pleasure 
in  adding  my  testimony  to  that  of  many  others,  of  the  vast  amount  of 
G 


98 

good  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  has  been  instrumental  in  doing. 
I  vividly  remember  the  last  22d  day  of  May,  after  the  charge  upon  the 
fortifications  of  Vicksburg.  Our  division,  (Gen.  Carr's,)  had  about 
four  hundred  badly  wounded  men,  brought  into  our  division  hospital 
on  that  day.  We  had  been  cut  oft'  from  our  base  of  supplies  for  over 
two  weeks,  had  fought  three  successful  battles,  and  had  entirely  ex 
hausted  all  our  medical  and  hospital  stores.  Our  men  were  brought 
from  the  battle  field  with  their  winter  clothing  on,  and  in  many  cases 
their  clothing  and  woolen  blankets  were  saturated  with  blood,  and 
covered  with  fly-blows,  and  we  had  no  change  to  give  them.  We 
heard  that  communication  was  opened  with  Chickasaw  Landing,  twelve 
miles  distant,  and  that  a  U.  S.  Government  boat  was  there  with  sup 
plies.  At  once,  four  wagons  were  sent  there,  with  a  request  from  the 
officer  to  send  us  the  supplies  that  were  so  urgently  needed,  and  the 
necessary  papers  could  be  executed  afterwards.  The  wagons  returned 
empty,  and  the  men  were  told  that  nothing  would  be  issued,  unless 
the  papers  had  gone  through  all  the  proper  channels,  and  were  tied 
with  red  tape,  which  would  require  several  days  to  accomplish. 

"One  of  the  teamsters  remarked  to  me,  that  he  saw  the  boat  of  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission,  coming  up  the  Yazoo  river,  as  they 
were  leaving.  Our  wagons  were  sent  back,  and  our  situation  made 
known  to  that  noble  hearted  gentleman,  A.  W.  Plattenburg,  agent  of 
the  Sanitary  Commission,  who  at  once  loaded  them  with  every  thing 
necessary  for  the  comfort  and  health  of  our  wounded  soldiers,  and 
in  a  few  hours  a  great  change  was  seen  in  the  hospital. 

"The  clothing  was  all  changed,  good  beds  were  provided,  nutritious 
food  and  proper  stimulants  prepared  ;  and,  but  for  this  timely  aid 
from  your  Commission,  it  is  probable  many  of  these  poor  soldiers 
would  have  died.  This  is  only  one  instance.  I  could  cite  many  others 
of  a  similar  character,  if  time  would  permit. 

"Go  on  in  your  noble  efforts  to  ameliorate  the  condition  of  our  unfor 
tunate  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  ;  and  may  God  bless  your  efforts, 


90 

and  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  our  loyal  peonle  to  contribute  still  larger 
means  to  enable  you  to  accomplish  a  greater  amount  of  good. 
"Very  respectfully, 

"  GEORGE  P.  REX. 

"  Surgeon  33d  Illinois  Infantry, 
"  Medical  Director  U.  S.  Forces  in  Texas" 

A  very  large  shipment  of  sanitary  goods  has  also  been  sent  this 
winter,  to  the  army  of  Gen.  Banks,  on  the  Red  river,  and  the  Com 
mission  is  at  this  date,  (May  16th,  1864,)  sending  forward  all  the  stores 
that  can  possibly  be  shipped  to  the  army  of  Gen.  Sherman,  at  Chatta 
nooga,  Da4ton  and  Tunnel  Hill,  Georgia,  to  be  prepared  for  the  care  of 
the  sick  and  wounded  of  his  army.  Mr.  H.  E.  Collins,  its  efficient  and 
energetic  agent,  (late  Cashier  of  the  Commission,)  is  at  Xashville, 
Tenn.,  pushing  them  forward,  that  no  time  may  be  lost,  no  pains 
spared,  to  meet  any  emergency  that  may  arise.  He  will  go  on  to 
Chattanooga,  leaving  Mr.  Albert  Clark  at  Xashville,  to  attend  to  future 
shipments.  Mr.  James  Tompkins,  another  agent  of  the  Commission,  is 
now  at  Chattanooga,  and  will  go  forward  to  the  front  with  his  stores  as 
soon  as  he  can  communicate  with  the  Medical  Director. 

Having  thus  exhibited  something  of  the  work  of  the  Western  San 
itary  Commission  for  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  western  armies  and 
navy,  there  are  several  questions  often  raised,  which  may  be  appro 
priately  answered  here: 

It  is  sometimes  asked  what  need  there  is  of  Sanitary  Commissions  ? 
Why  don't  the  Government  do  this  work,  and  take  proper  care  of  the 
soldiers,  without  depending  on  voluntary  contributions?  The  answer 
is  plain.  The  Government  can  only  act  through  a  system  of  regula 
tions,  by  its  authorized  agents,  who  must  be  governed  by  prescribed 
rules  and  limitations,  and  held  to  a  strict  responsibility,  or  there  would 
be  no  end  to  the  waste  and  loss  and  imposition  to  which  it  would  be 
subjected.  Hence  the  necessity  of  a  fixed  ration  for  the  soldier,  and 
of  supply  tables  for  the  hospitals,  by  which  so  much  can  be  drawn  and 


TOO 

no  more,  the  amount  of  hospital  supplies  being1  regulated  according 
to  the  average  number  of  sick.  Thus  it  will  often  happen  that  the 
wants  of  an  army  in  a  time  of  sickness,  or  in  an  unhealthy  locality, 
or  after  a  battle,  will  greatly  exceed  the  supplies  on  hand;  and  there 
is  no  way  of  meeting  these  emergencies,  except  through  some  such 
instrumentality  as  the  Sanitary  Commission. 

In  the  army  ration  there  is  a  deficiency  of  vegetable  food.  The  amount 
of  potatoes,  for  instance,  to  each  ration,  is  not  one-quarter  of  what 
would  be  a  sufficient  supply  for  a  well  man  at  home.  In  the  hospitals 
it  will  barely  answer  for  the  hash  that  is  given  for  breakfast,  three 
times  a  week ;  and  very  often  the  proportion  allowed  to  the  well  sol 
dier  is  not  given  him,  because  the  commissary  has  none.  Sometimes 
for  weeks  and  months,  in  the  field,  the  regiments  will  receive  no  pota 
toes  ;  and  onions  and  other  vegetables  (still  more  rarely  allowed)  will 
be  wanting.  Such  a  want  of  vegetable  diet  soon  engenders  scurvy  and 
other  diseases  that  incapacitate  the  men  for  duty,  and  destroy  life.  To 
meet  this  want,  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  has  forwarded  many 
thousands  of  bushels  of  potatoes  and  onions,  and  thousands  of  cans  of 
tomatoes,  and  kegs  of  pickles,  to  the  army.  And  besides  these  supplies 
the  surgeons  in  charge  of  hospitals  make  constant  requisition  for 
articles  not  furnished  by  Government,  or  not  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  meet  the  necessities  of  their  patients. 

Prejudicial  stories  have  been  circulated  by  many  dissatisfied 
and  fault-finding  persons  about  the  waste  and  consumption  of  sani 
tary  stores  by  officers,  accompanied  by  assertions  that  what  is  sent 
never  reaches  the  private  soldier.  Much  harm  has  been  done  in  this 
way,  by  suspicious  and  evil-minded  persons,  discouraging  contributions 
and  preventing  supplies  from  being  sent  to  the  army.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  war,  before  this  great  sanitary  work  had  been  reduced  to 
a  system,  instances  of  waste  and  theft,  and  misappropriation  of  sanitary 
goods  did  no  doubt  sometimes  occur;  but  even  then  they  were  the 
exception  and  not  the  rule.  This  evil  has,  however,  been  constantly 


101 

diminishing' ;  persons  detected  in  it  have  been  disgraced  and  dismissed 
from  the  service  ;  and  a  greater  degree  of  responsibility  has  been 
secured,  with  more  ample  means  of  exposure,  so  that  now  the  mis 
appropriation  of  sanitary  goods  can  scarcely  take  place  without  bring 
ing  disgrace  and  punishment  on  the  parties  engaged  in  it. 

Nevertheless,  the  impression  still  prevails  with  many  that  the  private 
soldier  never  gets  any  of  the  sanitary  stores  sent  to  the  army,  and 
many  soldiers  themselves,  who  have  received  them  in  their  hospital 
diet,  and  at  the  Soldiers'  Homes,  slept  in  comfortable  beds,  rested 
upon  soft  pillows,  worn  dressing-gowns,  and  socks,  and  shippers,  in 
sick  wards,  and  eaten  vegetables,  fruits,  butter  and  delicacies  at  their 
meals,  (not  being  informed  of  the  fact)  have  never  known  that  these 
things  came  from  the  Sanitary  Commissions. 

An  interesting  illustration  of  this  is  mentioned  by  Rev.  Glen  Wood, 
General  Agent  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  who  has  spent  much 
time  in  the  army,  in  the  distribution  of  reading  matter.  During  a 
visit  to  a  general  hospital,  which  I  think  he  said  was  at  Murfreesboro' 
or  Jackson,  Tenn.,  he  engaged  in  conversation  with  a  convalescent 
soldier  in  one  of  the  wards,  who  had  just  finished  a  letter  to  his  wife. 
The  soldier  said  to  him: 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  my  wife,  away  in  Wisconsin,  and  she 
writes  that  the  Soldiers'  Aid  Society  are  getting  up  some  sanitary  stores 
to  send  to  us,  and  that  she  is  helping  to  make  up  a  nice  lot  of  things. 
I  have  just  written  to  her,  and  told  her  not  to  do  any  such  thing ;  that  the 
soldiers  never  get  what  is  sent  to  them :  and  that  the  surgeons  and  stew 
ards  and  officers  only  feast  on  them,  while  the  common  soldiers  get  none." 

Several  of  the  other  soldiers  responded  to  the  statement  of  their 
comrade,  "  That's  so ;  we  never  see  any  sanitary  stores  here." 

Rev.  Mr.  Wood  said,  "  My  dear  sir,  I  think  you  must  be  mistaken. 
I  have  been  through  the  army  a  good  deal,  and  have  seen  a  great  many 
things  received  by  the  soldiers  that  were  sent  from  home,  through  the 
Sanitary  Commissions,  and  otherwise." 


102 

He  continued,  addressing  the  first  speaker,  "  1  see  you  have  on  a 
comfortable  dressing-gown,  and  socks  and  slippers,  and  clean  sheets, 
and  a  pillow  on  your  bed ;  where  did  you  get  these  things  from  ?" 

"  Well/'  said  the  soldier,  "I  reckon  Uncle  8am  fitted  up  this  hos 
pital,  and  these  here  articles  came  from  the  linen  room." 

Mr.  Wood  remarked  again,  "  I  noticed  at  dinner  that  you  had  pota 
toes,  and  pickles,  and  onions,  and  butter,  and  dried  fruit,  and  tomatoes; 
where  did  you  get  these  things  from  ?" 

"  O,"  said  the  former  speaker  again,  "  I  reckon  Uncle  Sam  provided 
'em,  or  may  be  they  were  bought  with  the  hospital  fund/' 

"  But,"  says  Mr.  Wood,  "  such  things  can  scarcely  be  bought  here 
for  love  or  money.  I  don't  see  any  in  the  market,  and  the  sutlers 
ask  a  great  price  for  them.  Suppose  we  call  in  the  steward,  and  see 
if  he  cannot  throw  some  light  on  this  question." 

The  steward  was  then  requested  to  come  in,  and  Mr.  Wood  asked 
him  if  he  would  be  kind  enough  to  state  to  these  men  where  most  of 
the  articles  of  hospital  clothing  that  had  been  mentioned,  and  the  butter 
and  fruit  and  vegetables,  and  other  delicacies  on  the  table,  had  come  from. 

"  Why,  boys,"  said  the  steward,  "  didn't  you  know  we  got  those 
things  from  the  Sanitary  Commission  ?" 

Instantly  the  men  dropped  their  heads  in  some  confusion,  and  the 
first  speaker  replied,  "No,  sir,  we  didn't  know  it.  "Why  didn't  you 
tell  us,  and  we  shouldn't  have  said  what  we  did  to  this  gentleman.  I 
hope  he  will  excuse  our  mistake.  As  for  me,  I'm  going  to  tear  up 
my  letter  to  my  wife,  (tearing  it  in  pieces)  and  write  her  another, 
and  tell  her  to  go  ahead  with  them  sanitary  stores,  and  right  glad  we 
shall  be  to  get  them." 

The  men  seemed  much  pleased  with  this  turn  of  affairs,  and  Mr. 
Wood  left  them,  having  made  a  most  salutary  impression,  and  giving 
them  all  the  reading  matter  they  wished. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  much  harm  has  been  done,  by  letters  from 
men  who  are  naturallv  croakers  and  fault-finders,  in  discouraging 


tf 


103 

O 
s 
contributions   to  the,  Sanitary  Commissions.     The  well  soldier, 

has  always  enjoyed  his  health,  ought  not,  of  course,  to  receive  t 
delicacies  and  comforts  designed  only  for  the  sick,  and  for  hospital 
use.  The  vegetables  distributed  by  the  Commission  he  eats,  without 
inquiring  where  they  came  from,  and  writes  home  that  he  has  never 
received  any  thing  from  the  Sanitary  Commission. 

The  following  method  was  adopted  by  Surgeon  Charles  H.  Hughes, 
1st  Missouri  State  Militia,  to  cure  one  of  these  croakers  of  his  fault 
finding  spirit.  Surgeon  Hughes  stands  very  high  in  the  esteem  of 
those  who  know  him,  and  his  statement  is  worthy  of  all  credit.  He 
says  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary,  from  De  Soto,  Mo.,  May  2d,  1864, 
acknowledging  the  receipt  of  sanitary  stores : 

"  I  will  tell  you  how  I  cured  a  croaker  in  the  St.  Louis  Hickory 
street  hospital  once.  He  said  the  steward  got  half  the  things  sent  by 
the  Sanitary  Commission.  I  took  every  thing  from  him.  for  a  week, 
which  had  been  furnished  him  by  the  Commission,  his  pocket  comb, 
pocket  handkerchief,  slippers,  socks,  and  gown,  and  reading  matter. 
I  deprived  him  of  the  looking-glass,  feather  pillow,  and  comforts, 
and,  for  the  two  latter,  gave  him  a  hard,  hair  pillow  and  Government 
blanket,  and  let  him  take  his  meals  at  a  separate  table,  on  the  rations 
furnished  by  the  commissary,  and  bought  out  of  the  fund.  After  that 
he  croaked  about  the  parsimony  of  Uncle  Sam,  and  I  put  him  in  the 
guard-house.  When  he  rejoined  his  company  he  was  effectually  cured. 

"  Much  wrong  has  been  done  to  the  Sanitary  cause,  and  to  medical 
officers  in  the  service,  by  the  letters  of  these  croakers.  People  are 
foolish  enough  to  believe  them,  not  knowing  that  the  things  which  are 
usually  sent  to,  and  relished  by  the  sick,  are  unwholesome,  oftentimes, 
to  the  stomach  of  a  healthy  man,  because  they  vitiate  his  appetite  for 
the  more  substantial  food  which  he  most  needs.  A  physician  seldom 
indulges  in  sweetmeats,  and  the  wearing  apparel,  hospital  clothing, 
etc.,  sent  by  the  Commission,  always  bear  a  stamp,  which  would  dis 
grace  any  one  but  the  legitimate  wearer — the  patriot  soldier." 


104 

A  strict  accountability  is  maintained  between  the  Western  Sanitary 
Commission  and  all  its  agents  in  the  field.  Whenever  stores  are  sent 
to  the  agents,  they  are  forwarded  by  the  United  States  quartermasters 
as  Government  freight,  and  they  receipt  for  them,  and  are  responsible 
for  their  delivery.  When  delivered  to  the  agents  of  the  Commission 
they  receipt  to  the  quartermasters,  and  the  receipted  bills  of  lading 
are  returned  to  the  chief  quartermaster  at  St.  Louis,  and  acknowledg 
ments  are  also  made  to  the  Commission.  When  sanitary  stores  are 
distributed  to  the  surgeons  for  the  sick  and  wounded  in  hospitals,  it 
is  done  in  answer  to  written  requisitions,  and  their  receipts  are  taken 
and  returned  to  the  Commission  at  St.  Louis.  Piles  of  these  documents 
are  now  on  file  at  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  rooms,  and  it  can 
easily  be  shown  what  regiments  and  hospitals  have  received  sanitary 
stores,  and  the  use  made  of  them,  by  the  surgeons  and  stewards, 
inquired  into. 

The  following  General,  Post,  and  .Regimental  hospitals  are  among 
the  number  that  have  been  supplied  by  this  Commission :  New  House 
of  Refuge,  St.  Louis  and  City  hospitals,  General  hospital,  (corner  of 
Fifth  and  Chesnut  street,)  Good  Samaritan,  Eliot,  (Fourth  street,) 
Pacific,  Hickory  street,  Jefferson  Barracks,  Marine,  Benton  Barracks, 
Lawson  and  Small-pox  hospitals,  hospitals  in  Arnot's  and  Thornton 
&  Pierce's  buildings,  Schofield  Barracks  and  Military  Prison ;  hospitals 
in  Cairo,  and  Mound  City,  111. ;  at  Paducah,  and  Columbus,  Ky. ; 
Pittsburg  Landing,  Union  City,  Jackson,  Lagrange,  Memphis,  Nash 
ville,  and  Murfreesboro',  Tenn. ;  Corinth,  and  Vicksburg,  Mississippi ; 
Huntsville,  Ala. ;  Helena,  Clarendon,  Brownsville,  Duvall's  Bluff, 
Fayetteville,  Salem,  and  Little  Rock,  Ark. ;  Fort  Blunt,  Cherokee 
Nation;  Young's  Point,  Milliken's  Bend,  Goodrich's  Landing  and 
Duckport,  La.;  hospitals  of  the  6th,  13th,  14th,  15th,  16th,  and  17th  army 
corps ;  and  of  Quimby's,  Hovey's,  Steele's,  Logan's,  McPherson's,  Her- 
ron's,  KimbalPs,  McArthur's^  and  Blair's  divisions ;  and  of  Thayer's, 
Irving's,  Wilder's,  and  the  Marine  brigade ;  hospitals  at  Otterville,  Pacific 


105 

City,  Kolla,  St.  Joseph,  Sulphur  Springs,  Sedalia,  Tipton,  Commerce, 
St.  Charles,  Ironton,  Pilot  Knob,  Cape  Girardeau,  Lebanon,  Patterson, 
Jefferson  City,  Kansas  City,  Springfield,  Mo. ;  Fort  Scott,  Fort  Leav- 
enworth,  Kansas;  Fort  Halleck,  Idaho;  Evansville,  Ind.;  Quincy,  111; 
and  Keokuk,  Iowa.  Many  stores  were  also  issued  to  convalescent 
camps,  and  personally  to  large  numbers  of  convalescent  soldiers. 

Among  the  regiments  supplied,  are  all  the  Missouri  troops,  from 
the  1st  to  the  37th  infantry ;  from  the  1st  to  the  14th  cavalry ;  Wellfly's 
and  the  other  Missouri  batteries  of  artillery ;  Bissell's  engineer  corps ; 
Benton  and  Fremont  Hussars,  and  Merrill's  and  Curtis'  Horse;  the 
Iowa  troops,  from  the  1st  to  the  40th  regiments  of  infantry;  and  the 
1st,  2d,  3d,  4th,  5th,  6th,  and  9th  Iowa  cavalry;  and  the  1st  Iowa  and 
Dubuque  and  Dodge's  batteries;  the  2d,  4th,  8th,  10th,  llth,  13th, 
14th,  loth,  17th,  18th,  20th,  26th,  28th,  29th,  30th,  31st,  32d,  33d,  36th, 
40th,  41st,  42d,  43d,  45th,  46th,  47th,  48th,  49th,  53d,  54th,  55th,  56th, 
61st,  62d,  63d,  76th,  77th,  81st,  87th,  90th,  93d,  94th,  95th,  97th,  99th, 
101st,  103d,  106th,  108th,  lllth,  113th,  114th,  116th,  117th,  118th,  122d, 
124th,  126th,  127th,  130th,  131st,  145th,  and  147th  Illinois  infantry; 
the  5th,  6th,  7th,  9th,  and  10th  Illinois  cavalry  ;  and  Peoria,  Mercan 
tile,  Board  of  Trade,  Taylor's,  and  1st  Illinois  batteries;  the  7th, 
8th,  llth,  12th,  16th  18th,  23d,  24th,  25th,  34th,  39th,  43d,  47th,  48th, 
49th,  53d,  54th,  56th,  59th,  60th,  67th,  72d,  83d,  93d,  96th,  97th,  99th, 
and  100th  Indiana  infantry;  Coggswcll's  1st  Indiana  battery;  and  the 
1st  Indiana  cavalry;  the  1st,  16th,  20th,  22d,  30th,  32d,  36th,  37th,  42d> 
46th,  47th,  48th,  53d,  54th,  55th,  56th,  57th,  58th,  68th,  70th,  72d,  76th, 
77th,  78th,  80th,  83d,  95th,  96th,  114th,  and  120th  Ohio  infantry  ;  5th 
Ohio  cavalry;  and  the  2d,  4th,  8th,  llth,  16th,  and  26th  Ohio  batter 
ies:  the  1st,  2d,  6th,  8th,  9th,  llth,  12th,  14th,  Kith,  17th,  18th,  23d, 
25th,  27th,  28th,  29th,  32d,  33d,  and  41st  Wisconsin  infantry  ;  12th 
Wisconsin  battery;  and  1st,  2d,  and  3d  Wisconsin  cavalry;  the  2d, 
7th,  8th,  12th,  15th,  20th,  and  27th  Michigan  infantry ;  and  2d  and  3d 
Michigan  cavalry;  the  3d,  4th,  5th,  llth,  and  17th  Minnesota  infan- 


106 

try;  and  1st  Minnesota  battery;  the  1st,  2d,  5th,  10th,  llth,  [and 
13th  Kansas  infantry;  and  1st  and  5th  Kansas  cavalry  ;  the  1st  Ar 
kansas,  (white),  1st,  2d,  3d,  and  4th  Arkansas  colored  infantry  ;  and 
the  1st,  3d,  and  4th  Arkansas  cavalry  ;  the  5th  Maine  infantry  ;  the 
llth  New  Hampshire  infantry  ;  the  32d  Massachusetts  infantry  ;  the 
17th  and  178th  New  York  infantry;  the  34th  and  ooth  New  Jersey 
infantry ;  and  2d  New  Jersey  cavalry ;  the  45th  Pennsylvania  infantry ; 
the  4th  Virginia  infantry;  the  7th,  19th,  and  22d  Kentucky  infantry; 
the  8th,  dth,  10th,  llth,  and  12th  Louisiana  colored  infantry;  the  1st, 
2d,  3d,  4th,  and  6th,  Mississippi  colored  infantry;  and  1st  Mississippi 
colored  cavalry  ;  the  13th  United  States  regular  army  ;  and  the  48th, 
49th,  51st,  58th,  and  59th  United  States  colored  infantry  ;  and  2d 
and  6th  United  States  colored  artillery. 

The  hospital  steamers  supplied  by  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission, 
are  the  "City  of  Louisiana,"  afterwards  refitted  and  named  the  "R.  C. 
Wood,"  the  "D.  A.  January,"  the  "Empress,"  the  "Imperial,"  the 
"Eed  Rover,"  the  "City  of  Alton,"  the  "City  of  Memphis,"  the 
"Nashville;"  and  of  the  transports,  -Conveying  the  sick  and  wound 
ed,  the  "Ruth,"  the  "Glasgow"  the  "Diana,"  the  "Nebraska,"  and 
the  "Baltic." 

Of  the  gunboats  of  the  Mississippi  naval  squadron,  supplies  have 
been  sent  to  nearly  all,  among  which  the  following  may  be  named : 
the  Louisville,  Mound  City,  Carondelet,  Chillicothe,  Judge  Torrence, 
Lafayette,  NaumJceag,  Ratler,  Autocrat,  Black  Hawk,  Petrel,  Gen 
eral  Price,  Romeo,  Choctaw,  Benton,  Avenger,  Tyler,  Monarch, 
Switzerland,  Pairpaw,  Tawha,  Key  West,  and  No.  11,  tliere  being 
many  more,  to  whom  contributions  have  been  sent  quite  recently, 
including  the  whole  Mississippi  squadron. 

In  concluding  the  present  chapter,  it  is  deemed  an  appropriate  place 
to  mention  the  names  of  those  female  nurses,  who,  by  long  and  faithful 
service,  and  special  devotion  to  the  care  of  the  sick  and  wounded  sol 
diers,  in  the  St.  Louis  hospitals,  have  earned  the  gratitude  of  the  West- 


107 

crn  Sanitary  Commission,  and  of  those  who  have  been  the  objects  of 
their  kind  solicitude  and^  self-sacrificing  labors.  In  giving  this  list  of 
honored  names,  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  will  be  omitted,  who 
deserve  a  place  in  it,  for  it  is  made  up  under  many  disadvantages, 
and  without  all  the  means  of  a  careful  examination.  It  is  also  to  be 
regretted  that  the  Christian  names  of  some  are  not  within  the  knowledge 
of  the  writer,  and  cannot  be  easily  obtained.  The  list  is  as  follows :  Mrs. 
M.  I.  Ballard,  Mrs.  E.  O.  Gibson,  Mrs.  L.  D.  Aldrich,  Mrs.  Houghton, 
Mrs.  S.  A.  Plummer,  Miss  Carrie  C.  McNair,  Mrs.  Harriet  Colfax,  Mrs. 
Sarah  A.  Barton,  Miss  Ida  Johnson,  Miss  Clark,  [Miss  A.  L.  Ostrarn, 
Mrs.  Lucy  E.  Starr,  Mrs.  Olive  Freeman,  Mrs.  Anne  M.  Shattuck, 
Mrs.  E.  C.  Brendell,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Morris,  Mrs.  Dorothea  Ogden,  Mrs.  E. 
C.  Witherell,  Miss  N.  A.  Shepherd,  the  Sisters  of  Charity  at  the  New 
House  of  Refuge  Hospital,  Miss  Emma  L.  Ingalls,  Miss  Emily  E.  Par 
sons,  Miss  Fanny  Marshall,  Miss  Louisa  Maertz,  Miss  Harriet  N.  Phil 
lips,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.  Nichols,  Miss  Eebecca  Craighead,  Mrs.  H.  A. 

• 
Haines,  Mrs.  H.  A.  Reid,  Miss  Hattie  Wiswall,  Mrs.  Reese,  Mrs.  Maria 

Brooks,  Mrs.  Mary  Allen,  Mrs.  Bickerdike,  Miss  Cornelia  M.  Tomp- 
kins,  Mrs.  M.  A.  Steller,  Mrs.  Carrie  Gray,  Mrs.  M.  J.  Dykman, 
Misses  Marian  and  Clara  McClintock,  Mrs.  Otis,  Mrs.  Sager,  Mrs.  Pea- 
body,  Mrs.  Rebecca  S.  Smith,  Miss  Melcenia  Elliott,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Hagar, 
Mrs.  J.  E.  Hickox,  Mrs.  Lucy  L.  Campbell,  Miss  C.  A.  Harwood,  Miss 
Deborah  Daugherty,  Miss  Phebe  Allen,  Mrs.  Wells,  Mrs.  Ferris,  and 
Miss  Lucy  J.  Bissell. 

Of  these  honored  women,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Witherell  laid  down  her  life  in 
this  service.  She  had  served  very  faithfully  in  the  Eliot  Hospital,  St. 
Louis,  for  many  months,  and  was  always  most  gentle,  kind,  and 
unremitting  in  her  attention  to  the  sick  and  wounded.  In  the  spring 
of  1862,  she  was  transferred  to  the  hospital  steamer  "Empress"  as 
matron,  and  continued  on  her  till  the  next  July,  when,  on  the  10th 
of  the  month  she  died,  a  victim  of  fever,  contracted  in  performing  the 
arduous  duties  of  a  nurse.  The  Western  Sanitary  Commission  passed 


108 

a  preamble  and  resolutions,  commemorative  of  her  virtues,  in  which 
she  was  mentioned  as  one  who  was  "gentle  and  unobtrusive,  with  a 
heart  warm  with  sympathy,  and  unshrinking  in  the  discharge  of  duty, 
energetic,  untiring1,  ready  to  answer  every  call,  and  unwilling  to 
spare  herself  where  she  could  alleviate  suffering,  or  minister  to  the 
comfort  of  others.''  In  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  to  duty  she  was 
regarded  as  "  not  a  whit  behind  the  bravest  hero  on  the  battle  field," 
giving,  as  she  did,  her  life  for  her  country  and  humanity. 

If  the  history  of  the  present  war  shall  ever  be  faithfully  written,  it 
will  contain  many  touching  incidents  of  woman's  heroism,  and  a  noble 
record  of  the  inestimable  services  rendered  by  her,  in  the  hospitals 
of  the  army,  living  in  an  impure  atmosphere,  amid  scenes  of  suffering 
and  death,  that  the  soldiers  of  the  Union  may  be  gently  nursed  and 
cared  for,  and  sent  forth  again  to  do  battle  for  a  righteous  cause.  A 
young  woman  is  now  present  to  the  mind  of  the  writer,  and  her  name 

is  in  the  foregoing  list,  who  came  from  her  country  home,  in  Iowa,  a 

• 
volunteer  to  nurse  her  country's  defenders,  among  whom  were  all  of 

her  own  brothers,  who  were  old  enough  to  fight.  She  had  education, 
strength,  and  a  holy  resolution  to  undertake  the  hardest  service  she 
could  find.  For  months  she  served  in  the  hospitals  of  Tennessee,  went 
home  alone  in  charge  of  the  corpse  of  a  neighbor  of  her  father's,  who 
had  died  in  the  hospital  at  Memphis,  returned  to  St.  Louis,  and  when, 
in  one  of  the  large  hospitals,  a  volunteer  was  called  for,  to  serve  in  the 
erysipelas  ward,  a  position  of  danger  and  of  trying  service,  while 
others  were  reluctant,  she  made  a  ready  and  willing  offer  of  herself, 
was  accepted,  and  spent  months  in  the  cheerful  performance  of  her 
duty  there,  without  a  murmur  or  complaint.  She  is  still  filling  a 
position  of  arduous  service  and  much  responsibility,  and  may  occa 
sionally  be  seen,  leading  a  blind  soldier,  in  his  visits  to  the  surgeon, 
for  the  treatment  of  his  eyes,  taking  delight  in  every  opportunity  of 
doing  good  to  those  who  are  giving  their  lives  for  their  country. 
Another  one  we  also  knew,  whose  name  is  likewise  in  this  simple 


109 

record,  who,  at  Helena,  Ark.,  in  the  fall  and  winter  of  1862-3,  was 
almost  the  only  female  nurse  in  the  hospitals  there,  going  from  one 
building  to  another,  in  which  the  sick  were  quartered,  when  the  streets 
were  almost  impassable  with  mud,  administering  sanitary  stores,  and 
making  delicate  preparations  of  food,  spending  her  own  money  in  pro 
curing  milk  and  other  articles  that  were  scarce  and  difficult  to  obtain, 
and  doing  an  amount  of  work  which  few  persons  could  sustain,  living 
without  the  pleasant  society  to  which  she  had  been  accustomed  at 
home,  never  murmuring,  always  cheerful  and  kind,  preserving  in  the 
midst  of  a  military  camp  such  gentleness,  strength,  and  purity  of  char 
acter,  that  all  rudeness  of  speech  ceased  in  her  presence,  and,  as  she 
went  from  room  to  room,  she  was  received  with  silent  benedictions, 
or  an  audible  "  God  bless  you,  dear  lady,  for  your  kindness  to  me," 
from  some  poor  sufferer's  heart. 

When  such  women  are  willing  to  leave  their  pleasant  homes,  and 
forsake  almost  every  comfort,  for  such  a  service,  and  in. such  a  cause, 
there  is  still  hope  for  the  land  of  their  birth  ;  for  while  virtue  and 
self-sacrifice  remain,  the  cause  of  liberty  and  free  government  cannot 
perish  from  the  earth,  but  must  grow  stronger  and  more  triumphant 
with  every  conflict,  as  ages  roll  away. 


CHAPTER     X. 


THE  FREEDMEN  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI — FIRST  EFFORTS  FOR  THEIR  RELIEF  AT  HELENA — 
Miss  MARIA  R.  MANN — MR.  YEATMAN'S  VISITS  TO  THE  FREEDMEN,  FROM  ISLAND 
No.  10  TO  NATCHEZ — CHAPLAIN  H.  D.  FISHER  DETAILED  AS  AN  AGENT  OF  THE 
COMMISSION  TO  MAKE  AN  APPEAL  FOR  AID  IN  NEW  ENGLAND — GENEROUS  CON 
TRIBUTIONS  RECEIVED — MR.  YEATMAN'S  REPORT — CONDITION  OF  THE  FREEDMEN — 
THE  SUBJECT  PRESENTED  TO  THE  ATTENTION  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT — MR.  W.  P. 
MELLEN  AND  MR.  YEATMAN  RETURN  TO  CARRY  INTO  EFFECT  AN  IMPROVED  SYSTEM 
OF  LEASING  THE  ABANDONED  PLANTATIONS,  AND  OF  SECURING  BETTER  WAGES  TO 
THE  LABORERS — SECOND  VISIT  TO  WASHINGTON — MILITARY  PROTECTION  GIVEN — 
NATIONAL  AND  OTHER  FREEDMEN'S  RELIEF  ASSOCIATIONS— MESSRS.  MARSH  AND 
FOSTER  GO  TO  VICKSBURG  AS  AGENTS — TEACHERS  SENT — DEATH  OF  ONE  OF  THE 
NUMBER — FOUR  THOUSAND  FIVE  HUNDRED  FREEDMEN  ARRIVE  WITH  THE  RETURN 
OF  GEN.  SHERMAN'S  ARMY  FROM  MERIDIAN— THEIR  CONDITION— AID  GIVEN- 
UNION  REFUGEES  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY — REFUGEE  HOME  AT  ST.  Louis — 
REFUGEES  AT  PILOT  KNOB — LABORS  OF  SUPERINTENDENT  A.  WRIGHT — REFUGEE 
HOME  AT  VICKSBURG — SCHOOL  FOR  REFUGEE  CHILDREN. 


INCIDENTAL  to  its  great  work  of  ministering  to  the  sick  and  wounded 
of  the  Western  armies  and  navy,  and  of  promoting  the  health  and  en 
ergy  of  our  soldiers  in  the  field,  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  has 
felt  itself  called  to  devote  a  portion  of  its  labors  to  the  relief  of  forty 
thousand  freedmen,  along  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  river,  from 
Columbus,  Ky.,  to  Natchez,  many  of  whom,  in  their  transition  from  the 
ownership  and  control  of  slave  masters,  to  the  condition  of  freedmen, 
have  suffered  untold  hardships  and  privations,  in  a  country  stripped  by 
the  ravages  of  war,  with  no  demand  for  labor,  except  in  a  few  favored 
localities,  nor  any  means  of  providing  for  their  most  urgent  wants,  food, 
clothing,  and  shelter.  Seeing  in  them  the  victims  of  a  life-long  oppres 
sion,  thrown  destitute  and  almost  naked  upon  the  tender  mercies  of  our 
armies  in  the  field,  many  of  them  dying  of  exposure,  hardship,  and  dis 
ease,  the  members  of  the  Western  Commission  could  not  turn  a  deaf 
ear  to  their  silent  appeals  for  assistance  and  Christian  sympathy. 

Their  attention  was  first  called  to  the  sufferings  of  these  people  at 


Ill 

Helena,  in  the  beginning  of  the  winter  of  1862-3,  where  there  were 
between  three  and  four  thousand,  men,  women  and  children,  part  of 
them  living  in  a  place  back  of  the  town,  established  for  them,  by  Gen. 
C.  C.  Washburne,  the  previous  summer,  called  "  Camp  Ethiopia,"  in 
the  condemned  and  cast-off  tents  of  the  army,  and  in  caves  and  shelters 
of  brush — the  best  arrangement  that  could  be  made  at  the  time,  but 
wholly  insufficient  for  winter.  Others  dwelt  in  the  poorer  houses  of 
the  town,  sixteen  and  twenty  persons  occupying  the  same  room,  and 
others  still  in  the  few  huts  that  remained  on  the  neighboring  planta 
tions.  The  able-bodied  men  had  been  worked  very  hard  on  the  fortifi 
cations  of  the  place,  and  by  the  quartermasters,  in  unloading  coal  from 
barges  and  freight  from  steamboats,  and  also  as  grave-diggers,  team 
sters  and  wood  choppers,  and  in  all  manner  of  fatigue  duty.  For  these 
services  many  of  them  never  received  any  compensation,  through  the 
neglect  of  the  officers,  having  them  in  charge,  to  keep  proper  pay  rolls, 
and  the  indifference  of  several  of  the  military  commanders,  immedi 
ately  succeeding  Maj.  Gen.  Curtis.  At  one  time  an  order  was  issued 
forbidding  their  payment,  on  the  ground  that  their  masters  would  have 
a  claim  against  the  Government  for  their  services.  All  the  while  they 
were  compelled  to  do  most  of  the  hard  work  of  the  place,  and  press- 
gangs  were  sent  out  to  take  them  in  the  streets  and  put  them  to  work, 
sometimes  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  taking  no  account  of  their  names 
or  labor,  and  dismissing  them  without  compensation.  Sometimes  they 
were  shot  down,  and  murdered  with  impunity. 

Under  such  circumstances  they  were  not  able  to  provide  for  their 
families,  and  rations  had  to  be  drawn  for  them  from  the  Government. 
Herded  together  as  they  were,  in  camps  and  the  poorest  dwellings,  it  was 
no  wonder  that  they  sickened  and  died  at  a  fearful  rate.  The  writer  of 
this,  who  was  then  on  duty  at  Helena,  has  seen  the  streets  patroled  by 
mounted  orderlies,  to  gather  up  the  "contrabands,"  as  they  were  called, 
for  forced  labor,  while  their  women  and  children  were  driven  from  their 
little  houses,  to  Camp  Ethiopa,  under  an  arbitrary  military  rule,  with 


112 

a  view  of  expelling  them  from  the  town ;  and  there  being  no  additional 
shelter  at  the  camp,  they  had  to  suffer  there,  till  the  order  became  par 
tially  a  dead  letter,  by  reason  of  its  inhumanity.  A  military  order  was 
as  one  time  issued,  to  carry  them  beyond  the  lines,  under  which  many 
of  them  were  delivered  up  to  rebel  masters,  in  violation  of  the  Articles 
of  War.  "With  hundreds  of  sick,  their  only  hospital  was  a  small  build 
ing,  not  sufficient  for  the  care  of  twenty  persons. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances,  that  the  Western  Sanitary  Com 
mission,  early  in  January,  1863,  sent  to  Helena,  that  excellent  and 
philanthropic  woman,  Miss  Maria  R.  Mann,  with  a  large  supply  of 
sanitary  stores,  clothing,  hospital  goods,  furniture,  stove,  &c.,  to  fit  up 
a  better  hospital  for  the  sick  of  this  class,  and  to  minister  generally  to 
their  wants. 

At  this  time,  Rev.  Samuel  Sawyer,  chaplain  of  the  47th  Indiana  in 
fantry,  and  Rev.  J.  G.  Forman,  chaplain  of  the  od  Missouri  infantry, 
both  of  them  on  detached  service  at  Helena,  were  doing  what  they 
could  for  these  poor  people,  and  welcomed  the  arrival  of  Miss  Mann 
with  great  satisfaction.  Mr.  F.  secured  rooms  for  her  and  her  stores  in  the 
same  house  occupied  by  himself  and  others,  and  the  work  of  ameliora 
tion  was  immediately  commenced.  The  hospital  wTas  soon  renovated; 
and  a  month  or  two  later,  on  the  removal  of  a  portion  of  the  army,  a 
larger  and  better  building  was  obtained,  when  the  sick  of  the  freed 
people  were  better  situated,  and  army  surgeons  were  detailed  to  attend 
them.  It  was  now  known  that  a  change  of  policy  towards  the  emanci 
pated  people  had  been  inaugurated  by  the  Government.  Adjutant 
General  Thomas  was  on  his  way  to  look  after  these  people,  and  organ 
ize  regiments  of  fighting  men  from  them,  and  the  military  commanders 
became  more  willing  to  grant  favors  in  their  behalf. 

In  the  Spring  a  splendid  regiment  of  the  1st  Arkansas  infantry,  A.  D., 
was  recruited  in  a  few  days,  commanded  by  Col.  Wm.  F.  Wood,  and  a 
second  was  commenced.  Miss  Mann  remained  till  the  following  Au 
gust,  performing  a  great  amount  of  useful  service  to  the  wives  and 


113 

children  of  these  men,  giving"  clothing  to  the  poor  and  needy,  selling  to 
those  who  had  money  to  buy  with,  and  replenishing  her  stock  with  the 
proceeds ;  teaching  women  to  cut  and  make  their  own  garments,  provid 
ing  medicines  for  the  sick,  visiting  them  in  their  camps  and  dwellings, 
giving  them  excellent  advice,  and  in  every  possible  way  improving  their 
condition. 

Her  labors  there  were  also  sustained  by  friends  in  New  England,  with 
whom  she  was  in  correspondence,  and  several  thousand  dollars  worth 
of  clothing,  material  for  clothing,  medicines,  etc.,  were* used  by  her  in 
the  most  judicious  manner,  Rev.  Dr.  Eliot,  at  St.  Louis,  acting  for 
the  Commission,  as  Treasurer  of  a  special  fund  for  this  purpose,  contri 
buted  mostly  by  humane  people  in  New  England.  Rev.  Jonathan  E. 
Thomas,  chaplain  56th  Ohio  infantry,  was  also  detailed  to  assist  in  this 
work,  and  his  humanity  and  kindness  to  the  poor  "  contrabands/'  as 
well  as  the  faithful  service  of  Rev.  Mr.  Sawyer,  and  the  devoted  labors 
of  Miss  Mann,  will  long  be  remembered  by  them,  and  by  the  writer  of 
this  sketch,  who  was  providentially  associated  with  them,  for  a  time,  in 
their  benevolent  work.  It  is  due  to  Major  Generals  S.  R.  Curtis,  C.  C. 
"Washbume,  and  Prentiss,  who  were  in  command  at  Helena  for  a  brief 
period,  to  say  that  it  was  not  during  their  administration  of  affairs  that 
the  evils  here  narrated  occurred,  and  that  they  were  always  ready  to  do 
whatever  was  in  their  power,  for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the 
colored  people  at  that  post. 

During  the  month  of  October,  '63,  the  condition  of  the  freed  people, 
along  the  Mississippi  river,  again  enlisted  the  earnest  consideration  of 
the  Western  Sanitary  Commission.  The  same  state  of  things  that  had 
existed  at  Helena,  was  reported  as  existing  at  many  other  points,  be 
tween  Columbus,  Kentucky,  and  Xatchez,  chiefly  the  result  of  neglect, 
inability  to  procure  remunerative  employment,  failure  of  quartermasters 
to  enroll  and  pay  the  freedmen  their  wages,  and  the  helpless  condition  of 
many,  in  consequence  of  the  taking  of  the  strong  and  able-bodied  men 
H 


114 

for  United  States  soldiers,  leaving  their  wives  and  children,  for  a  time, 
unprovided  for. 

On  the  6th  of  November  the  Commission  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  calling-  his  attention  to  the  condition  of 
these  people,  the  necessity  of  assistance,  before  another  winter  should 
set  in,  and  proposing  to  assume  the  labor  of  soliciting  contributions 
and  extending  relief,  as  an  incidental  part  of  its  work.  The  proposal 
was  favorably  regarded,  assurances  were  given  by  the  Secretary  of  War 
that  all  possible  aid  would  be  rendered,  in  the  way  of  transportation 
and  otherwise,  and,  a  few  weeks  later,  Mr.  Yeatman  made  a  special 
visit  down  the  river,  to  ascertain  and  report  the  actual  state  of  things. 

At  the  same  time,  Maj.  Gen.  Schofield,  who  gave  his  hearty  approval 
and  sympathy  to  the  work,  detailed,  by  special  order,  Chaplain  H.  D. 
Fisher,  of  the  5th  Kansas  Cavalry,  to  visit  New  England,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Commission,  and  make  a  suitable  appeal  for  contribu 
tions  for  this  object.  Mr.  Fisher's  visit  was  entirely  successful,  and 
very  large  contributions  of  clothing,  material  for  clothing,  shoes,  and 
other  necessary  articles,  amounting  in  value  to  about  $30,000,  and 
$13,000  in  money,  were  obtained,  by  a  committee  in  Boston,  composed 
of  Chas.  G.  Loring,  Chairman,  M.  S.  Scudder,  Secretary,  Alpheus 
Hardy,  Treasurer,  A.  A.  Lawrence,  James  M.  Barnard,  Wm.  Endi- 
cott,  Jr.,  Edward  Atkinson,  and  sixteen  others.  These  contributions 
came  from  Boston,  Salem  and  other  neighboring  towns  and  cities,  to 
whom  the  appeals  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  have  never 
been  made  in  vain.  Many  valuable  boxes  of  clothing  material  and 
shoes  were  sent  by  the  Boston  Educational  Commission  for  Freedmen, 
of  which  Messrs.  Barnard,  Atkinson  and  Endicott,  of  the  other  com 
mittee,  were  also  members. 

On  the  17th  of  December,  Mr.  Yeatman  returned  from  his  first  visit 
to  the  freedmen  of  the  lower  Mississippi,  and  made  a  full  report  to  the 
Commission,  of  which  five  thousand  copies  were  printed  and  circulated. 
He  stopped  at  Island  No.  10,  at  Memphis,  Helena,  Goodrich's  Landing, 


115 

Milliken's  Bend,  Young's  Point  and  Vicksburg,  the  plantations  of  Jeff 
and  Joe  Davis,  and  at  Natchez,  and  returning,  visited  some  of  these 
points  a  second  time. 

The  report,  consisting  of  sixteen  pages  of  closely  printed  matter,  is  so 
full  of  information  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  even  an  abstract  of  it 
for  this  work.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  he  found  about  forty  thou 
sand  of  these  people  in  camps,  at  the  above  and  other  places,  between 
Cairo  and  Xatchez,  in  various  degrees  of  poverty  and  wretchedness; 
that  among  them  he  found  several  volunteer  agents,  missionaries,  and 
teachers,  from  the  United  Presbyterians,  the  Friends,  and  the  Freed- 
men's  Aid  Associations,  laboring  for  their  benefit  as  well  as  they  could, 
without  system  or  co-operation;  that  in  the  cotton  growing  region,  from 
Goodrich's  Landing  to  Vicksburg,  on  the  abandoned  plantations,  leased 
by  the  Government,  he  saw  over  twenty  colored  men,  and  heard  of 
others  who  had  raised  from  five  to  ten  bales  of  cotton,  on  their  own 
account,  proving  their  capacity  for  self-maintenance,  with  a  fair  chance ; 
that  where  they  were  laboring  under  the  lessees  their  wages  were  whol 
ly  inadequate,  being  but  five  dollars  per  month  for  women,  and  seven 
dollars  per  month  for  men,  with  subsistence  of  the  poorest  kind ;  that 
they  suffered  many  wrongs  under  this  system;  that  when  they  were  em 
ployed  by  Government  Quartermasters,  to  cut  wood  for  steamboats,  they 
were  frequently  not  paid  ;  that  they  were  charged  an  unreasonable 
price  for  goods,  and  Were  really  suffering  wrongs  and  hardships,  equal 
to  those  they  had  borne  in  a  state  of  slavery,  while  they  were  enjoying 
none  of  the  blessings  of  liberty. 

Mr.  Yeatman,  in  his  report,  thus  sets  forth  some  of  the  wrongs  of 
these  people:  " Within  the  city  of  Memphis,  not  directly  connected 
with  any  of  the  camps,  or  with  the  colored  regiments,  there  are  some 
three  thousand  freed  men  and  women,  mostly  freed  men,  who  are  em 
ployed  in  various  ways,  and  at  various  rates  of  compensation.  Those 
employed  by  Government,  receive  but  ten  dollars  per  month,  while 


110 

many  could  readily  earn  Irom  thirty  to  fifty  dollars  per  month.  Those 
thus  employed  are  outside  of  the  military  organization. 

"To  give  an  instance:  One  quartermaster  told  me  that  he  had  in  his 
employment,  a  harness  maker,  to  whom  he  could  only  pay  ten  dollars 
per  month,  while  he  was  paying  white  men,  doing  the  same  work, 
forty-five  dollars  per  month;  and  that  the  colored  man  could  readily 
procure  the  same  wages,  were  he  allowed  to  seek  a  market  for  his  labor 
in  the  same  town.  I  saw  a  number  of  colored  men  pressed  into  service, 
(not  military,)  to  labor  at  the  rate  of  ten  dollars  per  month,  one  of 
whom  petitioned  to  be  released,  as  he  had  a  good  situation  at  thirty 
dollars  per  month.  The  firemen  on  the  steamboat  on  which  I  was  a 
passenger  from  St.  Louis  to  Memphis,  were  all  colored,  and  were  re 
ceiving  forty-five  dollars  per  month.  These  men  were  afraid  to  go  ashore 
at  Memphis,  for  fear  of  being  picked  up  and  forced  into  Government 
employment,  at  less  than  or  ^-fourth  their  existing  wages. 

"Besides  the  fact  that  men  are  thus  pressed  into  service,  thousands 
have  been  employed  for  weekj  and  months,  who  have  never  received 
any  thing  but  promises  to  pay.  This  negligence  and  failure  to  comply 
with  obligations,  have  greatly  disheartened  the  poor  slave,  who  comes 
forth  at  the  call  of  the  President,  and  supposes  himself  a  free  man,  and 
that,  by  leaving  his  rebel  master,  he  is  inflicting  a  blow  on  the  enemy, 
ceasing  to  labor  and  to  provide  food  for  him  and  for  the  armies  of  the 
rebellion.  Thus  he  was  promised  freedom,  but  how  is  it  with  him  ? 
He  is  seized  in  the  street,  and  ordered  to  go  and  help  unload  a  steam 
boat,  for  w^hich  he  will  be  paid,  or  sent  to  work  in  the  trenches,  or  to 
labor  for  some  quartermaster,  or  to  chop  wood  for  the  Government. 
He  labors  for  months,  and  at  last  is  only  paid  with  promises,  unless 
perchance  it  may  be  with  kicks,  cuffs,  and  curses. 

"Under  such  treatment,  he  feels  that  he  has  exchanged  one  master 
for  many  masters ;  these  continued  abuses  sadden  and  depress  him,  and 
he  sighs  to  return  to  his  former  home  and  master.  He,  at  least,  fed, 


117 

clothed,  and  sheltered  him.  Something  should  be  done,  and  1  doubt 
not,  will  be  done,  to  correct  these  terrible  abuses,  when  the  proper 
authorities  are  made  to  comprehend  them.  The  President's  proclama 
tion  should  not  thus  be  made  a  living-  lie,  as  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependence  has  too  long-  been,  in  asserting  the  inalienable  rights 
of  man,  while  the  nation  continued  to  hold  millions  of  human  beings 
in  bondage." 

In  another  place  he  says  : 

"  The  poor  negroes  are  everywhere  greatly  depressed  at  their  con 
dition.  They  all  testify  that  if  they  were  only  paid  their  little  wages  as 
they  earn  them,  so  that  they  could  purchase  clothing,  and  were  furnished 
with  the  provisions  promised,  they  could  stand  it ;  but  to  work  and  get 
poorly  paid,  poorly  fed,  and  not  doctored  when  sick,  is  more  than  they 
can  endure.  Among  the  thousands  whom  I  questioned,  none  showed 
the  least  unwillingness  to  work.  If  they  could  only  be  paid  fair  wages, 
they  would  be  contented  and  happy.  They  do  not  realize  that  they  are 
free  men.  They  say  that  they  are  told  they  are,  but  then  they  are  taken 
and  hired  out  to  men  who  treat  them,  so  far  as  providing  for  them  is 
concerned,  far  worse  than  their  "  secesh"  masters  did.  Besides  this  they 
feel  that  their  pay  or  hire  is  lower  now  than  it  was  when  the  "  secesh" 
used  to  hire  them.  This  is  true/' 

And  yet,  under  all  their  accumulated  wrongs,  these  people  manifest  a 
wonderful  faith  in  Divine  Providence ;  they  seem  to  be  sensible  that  God 
has  some  better  thing  in  store  for  them,  and  to  realize  that,  through  this 
wilderness  of  suffering  and  sorrow  is  the  only  ^ath  to  their  deliverance. 
Mrs.  Porter,  at  Camp  Holly  Spring,  near  Memphis,  related  to  Mr. 
Yeatman  an  instance  of  this.  When  she  first  went  there  to  teach,  an 
old  negro  came  out  to  meet  her,  whose  head  had  been  whitened  by  the 
frosts  of  ninety  winters,  and  who  was  almost  blind,  supporting  himself  by 
his  staff.  "With  his  hand  stretched  forth  he  accosted  her,  saying,  "  "Well, 
you  hab  come  at  las'.  I'se  been  'spectin'  you,  lookin'  for  you,  for  de 
las'  twenty  years.  I  knowed  you  would  come,  and  now  I  rejoice."  She 


118 

said,  "I  have  come  to  teach  you."    "  Yes,    yes,  I  know  it,  and  I  tank 
de  Lord." 

At  this  same  camp  Mr.  Yeatman  saw  a  colored  man,  who,  after  his 
return  from  his  work,  was  seated  in  his  cabin,  surrounded  by  his  own 
children  and  a" few  others  from  the  adjoining  cabins,  teaching  them  their 
lessons  for  the  morrow.  At  another  school  he  met  an  old  woman,  aged 
eighty-five,  who  was  intent  on  her  books.  When  asked  if  she  was  not 
too  old  to  begin  to  learn,  she  said,  "  Xo,"  that  she  must  learn  now  or 
not  at  all,  as  she  had  but  little  time  left,  and  she  must  make  the  most  of 
it.  When  asked  what  good  it  would  do  her,  she  said  "  she  could  read 
de  bible,  and  teach  de  young."  At  other  places  similar  instances  of 
faith  and  piety,  and  the  desire  of  knowledge,  were  witnessed. 

Mr.  Yeatman  was  most  favorably  impressed  with  the  capacity  of  the 
negroes  to  become  soldiers.  He  gives  an  account  of  several  successful 
expeditions,  under  Col.  Farrar,  at  Natchez,  in  which  they  brought 
in  prisoners.  In  one  instance  he  says,  "  The  prisoners  were  much 
chagrined  at  being  taken  by  negroes,  and  asked  if  they  could  not  have 
another  guard  to  take  them  through  town ;  but  as  they  were  captured 
by  negroes,  they  had  to  be  guarded  and  escorted  by  them." 

He  says  of  another  experience  he  had,  "  In  going  from  Goodrich's 
Landing  to  Milliken's  Bend,  I  was  escorted  by  twenty  colored  troops, 
mounted  on  mules  captured  from  the  enemy.  They  rode  gallantly  and 
fearlessly,  putting  our  their  advance  guard  and  arranging  themselves 
in  true  military  order,  conducting  themselves  with  as  much  propriety 
as  an  equal  number  of  well  behaved  gentlemen.  When  we  arrived  at 
the  Bend,  and  dashed  into  the  fort,  surrounded  by  troops,  my  com- 
panion— Dr.  May— and  myself,  dressed  in  citizen's  clothes,  and  mounted 
in  an  old  wagon,  were  taken  for  prisoners,  and  our  escort  was  called 
out  to  by  the  soldiers,  "Rebs!  Rebs!"  and  an  amount  of  ivory  dis 
played  that  1  have  seldom  seen  exceeded. 

"I  could  but  compare  my  first  visit  to  this  point  years  ago,  when  I 
landed  to  take  charge  of  a  large  estate,  as  executor,  with  my  present 


119 

one.  It  was  here  in  these  swamps  that  I  first  saw  and  knew  what  a  dead, 
leaden  thing  slavery  is,  and  the  wrong  and  injustice  which  could  be 
inflicted,  even  by  one,  considered  the  kindest  and  most  humane  of  mas 
ters.  I  doubt  not  the  seed  was  then  sown  in  my  heart  which  has  since 
germinated,  and  makes  me  now  not  only  willing,  but  anxious  to  labor 
for  these  poor  sons  of  soil.  What  a  revolution  a  few  short  years  has 
brought  about !  Who  can  doubt  that  an  infinitely  wise  and  just  God 
governs  the  world?" 

On  submitting  his  report  to  the  Commission,  Mr.  Yeatman  was  dele 
gated  to  visit  Washington,  and  present  this  subject  to  the  Government. 
In  doing  so,  he  also  presented  a  series  of  printed  "suggestions  of  a  plan 
of  organization  for  freed  labor  and  the  leasing  of  plantations  along  the 
Mississippi  river."  His  report  and  suggestions  were  most  favorably 
received  at  Washington,  and  he  was  urged  and  authorized  to  accom 
pany  Mr.  W.  P.  Mellen,  the  special  supervising  agent  of  the  Treasury 
Department,  to  Vicksburg,  to  mature  and  carry  them  into  effect.  This 
trust  of  the  Government  he  accepted,  as  a  voluntary  work,  declining 
an  official  position,  which  was  offered  him ;  and  he  proceeded  a  second 
time,  now  in  company  with  Mr.  Mellen,  to  the  region  of  the  leased 
plantations,  near  Vicksburg. 

The  new  plan  of  labor — in  view  of  the  high  price  of  cotton,  and 
the  profit  to  be  derived  from  its  cultivation — provided  that  the  freed- 
men  should  receive  from  812  to  $25  a  month,  according  to  age,  sex, 
ability,  etc.;  that  there  should  be  a  secure  method  of  enforcing  the 
contract  for  labor  and  wages ;  that  the  lessee  should  furnish  goods  at  an 
advance  of  ten  per  cent.  011  the  cost;  that  there  should  be  established 
"Home  Farms,"  under  a  superintendent,  for  the  young  and  old,  the 
infirm  and  destitute;  that  there  should  be  schools  and  teachers,  for 
all  children  under  twelve  years  old ;  and  that  a  tax  should  be  paid  to 
the  Government  of  four  dollars,  on  each  bale  of  cotton  raised,  and  of 
two  cents  per  pound,  for  the  support  of  the  "Home  Farms,"  and 
the  schools;  and  that  the  system  should  be  carried  out  by  commis- 


120 

sioners  of  plantations,  acting  under  the  Treasury  Department,  who 
should  see  that  justice  is  administered;  that  the  freed  people  are  treated 
as  free,  and  encouraged  to  respect  and  observe  the  institutions  of 
religion,  marriage,  and  all  the  customs  of  virtuous  and  civilized 
society,  and  to  become  worthy  of  the  blessings  of  a  Christian  civ 
ilization. 

On  their  way  down  the  river,  Messrs.  Me  lien  and  Yeatrnan  had  a  new 
form  of  lease,  and  printed  regulations  prepared  at  Memphis,  and  on  ar 
riving  at  Vicksburg,  inaugurated  the  new  order  of  things.  At  first  it 
met  with  some  opposition  from  the  old  lessees,  who  saw  in  it  a  diminu 
tion  of  their  gains;  but  seeing  that  it  was  promulgated  with  authority, 
it  was  acquiesced  in,  local  agents  were  appointed,  and  about  six  hundred 
plantations  were  immediately  leased,  under  the  new  system. 

The  withdrawal  of  the  troops,  from  some  of  the  districts,  had  caused 
considerable  discouragement  at  first,  but  on  a  second  visit  of  Messrs. 
Mellon  and  Yeatman  to  Washington,  the  Secretary  of  War  was  induced 
to  give  the  services  of  the  Marine  Brigade,  for  the  purpose  of  affording 
protection  to  the  plantations  and  freed  people ;  and  the  work  of  growing 
cotton,  the  present  year,  is  already  progressing  with  satisfaction  to  all 
concerned,  with  a  great  improvement  in  the  prospects  of  the  laborers, 
and  their  ultimate  success  as  independent  cultivators  of  the  soil  ;  for 
the  more  intelligent  of  them  do  not  fail  to  see  the  advantages  of  pos 
sessing  land  of  their  own,  and  are  ambitious  to  work  for  themselves, 
instead  of  a  master.  In  almost  every  instance  where  they  attempted, 
last  year,  to  cultivate  cotton,  on  their  own  account,  they  were  entirely 
successful,  numerous  instances  of  which  Mr.  Yeatman  gave  in  his  pub 
lished  report. 

While  these  changes  were  being  effected,  a  National  Freedman's 
Relief  Association  had  been  organized^!!  New  York  city,  and  a  North 
western  Freedmen's  Relief  Commission  at  Chicago,  besides  which  there 
were  two  similar  associations  already  existing  at  Cincinnati,  and  another 
was  formed  at  Indianapolis,  Harmonious  relations  were  at  once  estab- 


lished  between  these  Associations  and  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission. 

On  the  llth  December,  Messrs.  Win.  L.  Marsh  and  U.K.  Foster, from 
the  National  Freedmen's  lielief  Association  of  New  York,  arrived  at  St. 
Louis,  with  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Hon.  F.  G.  Shaw,  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  Association,  on  their  way  to  Vicksbtirg,  to  establish  an 
agency  there,  for  the  distribution  of  goods  to  the  needy,  the  sale  of  them 
to  those  who  could  pay,  and  for  the  employment  of  teachers  to  instruct 
the  people.  Mr.  Yeatnian  was  at  the  time  down  the  river;  but  these 
gentlemen,  seeing  the  advantages  of  co-operation  and  unity  of  purpose, 
consented  to  act  also  as  agents  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission, 
and  thereby  secured  an  arrangement  for  the  re-shipment  of  their  goods 
from  St.  Louis  to  Vicksburg,  which  they  were  expecting  from  New 
York,  and  the  Commission  also  secured  the  benefit  of  their  valuable 
services,  as  agents  in  the  field. 

Very  large  shipments  of  clothing  soon  began  to  arrive  from  New 
York,  directed  to  Mr.  Marsh,  and  were  forwarded  with  shipments  from 
the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  at  the  earliest  period.  They  were 
unfortunately  delayed  several  weeks  by  the  severe  cold  of  December 
and  January,  which  closed  the  navigation  for  awhile,  but  were  ulti 
mately  received,  and  accomplished  great  good.  Of  the  proceeds  of  the 
goods  sold  by  these  gentlemen,  on  account  of  the  Western  Sanitary 
Commission,  they  have  returned  $1000.  Their  services  have  been  in 
every  respect  most  useful  and  satisfactory,  and  have  been  extended  to 
Natchez,  and  other  places  besides  Vicksburg. 

D uring  the  winter  they  wrote  to  the  Commission  to  send  them  two 
teachers,  to  assist  in  the  work  of  instruction  and  distribution  at  Vicks 
burg.  Miss  A.  M.  Knight,  of  Sun  Prairie,  Wis.,  and  Miss  Sarah  J. 
Hagar,  of  this  city,  were  commissioned,  and  their  services  have  been 
very  acceptable  and  useful.  In  February,  Mrs.  Lydia  H.  Daggett,  of 
Boston,  a  very  excellent  and  capable  person,  was  sent  into  the  same 
field,  to  act  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Marsh. 

Within  a  few  days,  the  friends  of  Miss  Hagar  have  been  pained  to 


122 

receive  the  news  of  her  unexpected  death,  at  Vicksburg,  from  a  sudden 
attack  of  disease.  She  was  a  devoted,  and  estimable  young  woman. 
It  is  due  to  her  memory,  that  the  following  letter,  from  Mr.  Marsh, 
should  have  a  place  here,  since  she  died  in  the  service  of  the  Commis 
sion,  and  in  so  good  a  cause. 

"NATCHEZ,  May  6,  1864. 
"  REV.  J.  G.  FORMAN, 

"Sec'ry  Western  Sanitary  Commission: 
"My  DEAR  SIR — You  have  already  received  from  Mr.  Mann,  the  sad 

• 

intelligence  of  the  death  of  Miss  Hagar,  one  of  the  teachers  sent  by 
you,  to  labor  among  the  freed  people  in  this  valley. 

"I  was  at  Natchez  when  she  was  taken  ill,  and  did  not  receive 
intelligence  of  it  in  time  to  reach  Vicksburg,  until  after  her  death; 
which  occurred  on  Tuesday,  May  3d. 

"In  her  death,  the  Association  have  lost  a  most  earnest,  devoted 
and  Christian  laborer.  She  entered  upon  her  duties  at  a  time  of  great 
suffering  and  destitution,  among  the  freedmen,  at  Yicksburg,  and  when 
we  were  much  in  need  of  aid.  The  fidelity  with  which  she  performed 
her  labors,  and  the  deep  interest  she  manifested  in  them,  soon  endeared 
her  to  us  all.  "We  shall  miss  her  sorely;  but  the  noble  example  she 
has  left  us,  will  encourage  us  to  greater  elforts  and  more  patient  toil. 
She  seemed  to  realize  the  magnitude  and  importance  of  the  work  upon 
which  she  had  entered,  and  the  need  of  Divine  assistance,  in  its  per 
formance.  She  seemed  also  to  realize  what  sacrifice  might  be  demand 
ed  of  one  engaged  in  a  work  like  this,  and  the  summons,  although  sud 
den,  did  not  find  her  unprepared  to  meet  it.  She  has  done  a  noble 
work,  and  done  it  well.  The  sacrifice  she  made,  is  the  greatest  one 
that  can  be  made  for  any  cause,  the  sacrifice  of  life.  i  Greater  love 
than  this,  hath  no  man ;  that  a  man  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends.' 
She  has  gone  to  receive  her  reward. 

"The  family  thus  suddenly  bereaved,  and  plunged  in  affliction,  by 
this  sad  occurrence,  has  our  sympathies  and  prayers.  When  they  meet 


123 

to  perforfn  the  last  sad  rites  due  to  the  dead,  may  they  not  look  in  the 
close,  narrow,  burial-case  for  their  loved  one,  but  rather  raise  their  eyes 
to  behold  a  spirit,  freed  from  earthly  fetters,  clothed  in  spotless  robes, 
and  wearing  the  crown  bestowed  only  upon  those  who  prove  faithful 

to  the  end.  Respectfully, 

"  W.  L.  MARSH." 

Besides  the  labors  of  Messrs.  Marsh  and  Foster  at  Vicksburg,  the 
regular  agent  of  the  Commission,  Mr.  X.  M.  Mann,  has  taken  a  deep 
interest  in  the  same  work,  and  though  much  occupied  in  the  superin 
tendence  of  the  Soldiers'  Home,  and  the  care  of  the  refugees,  he  has 
found  time  to  lend  a  helping  hand.  An  interesting  letter  was  received 
from  him,  dated  the  7th  of  March,  in  which  he  gives  a  full  account  of 
the  arrival  of  the  four  thousand  five  hundred  freedmen,  who  returned 
with  Gen?l  Sherman's  Army,  from  Meridian,  and  of  his  distributions  of 
food  and  clothing  among  them.  "  Anticipating  a  need,"  he  says,  "I 
had  drawn  heavily  on  the  Commissary  for  bread  and  had  a  large  amount 
on  hand.  I  had  the  ambulance  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission 
loaded  with  this  bread,  and  taking  along  half  a  dozen  kind-hearted 
soldiers,  we  went  the  whole  length  of  this  wagon  train  and  gave  to  each 
family  a  loaf  or  two.  It  was  but  a  little  thing  to  do,  but  the  eagerness 
with  which  they  took  and  ate  it  told  how  grateful  it  was  to  them.  I 
assure  you  I  never  was  more  happy  than  that  night,  amid  all  that 
wretchedness,  giving  bread  to  those  hungry  creatures.  That  night  they 
lay  on  the  levee,  in  their  wagons,  and  on  the  ground.  Many  who  came 
from  plantations  this  side  of  Jackson  were  without  conveyances,  having 
walked  in,  bearing  their  " effects"  on  their  heads.  The  next  morning 
they  were  sent  on  Steamboats  to  camps  at  Davis'  Bend,  and  Oswego 
Landing,  and  in  company  with  Mrs.  Harvey,  of  Wisconsin,  and  Miss 
Dart,  a  teacher  from  New  England,  I  went  to  Oswego  with  a  quantity 
of  old  clothing,  furnished  by  the  National  Freedmeirs  Relief  Associa 
tion,  of  New  York,  for  distribution.  To  all  the  most  destitute,  or  rather 
the  most  torn  and  naked,  for  all  are  destitute,  we  gave  some  of  the 


124 

more  necessary  articles  of  clothing-.  1  only  wish  that  the  donors  of 
those  articles  could  have  witnessed  the  distribution.  I  do  not  know 
where  on  the  face  of  the  globe,  out  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  a 
thousand  people  could  be  got  tog-ether  that  would  present  to  charity  so 
strong  an  appeal  as  these.  I  wish  I  could  send  to  every  Northern  home 
of  plenty,  a  photograph  of  these  bare-footed,  ragged,  half-naked 
creatures,  as  they  appeared  to  me  that  day.  They  had  been  fed,  and 
although  their  destitute,  filthy,  tattered  and  homeless  condition  was 
enough  to  draw  tears  from  a  heart  of  stone,  many  were  cheerful  and 
gave  evidence  that,  with  a  very  little  comfort,  they  would  be  happy. 
The  endurance  of  the  negro  has  always  been  a  marvel.  It  was  never 
so  much  so  as  now.  It  is  his  difference  from  the  white  man,  in  this 
respect,  that  is  to  save  him,  if  he  is  saved,  in  this  great  trial." 

The  Union  refugees  have  also  received  a  share  in  the  labors  of  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission.  During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1861-2 
many  refugees  were  driven,  by  the  rebels,  from  the  interior  and  south 
west  parts  of  Missouri  to  St.  Louis,  and  were  in  a  condition  of  want  and 
suffering.  A  home,  on  Elm  street,  was  opened  for  the  most  helpless 
and  destitute,  and  others  were  assisted,  according  to  their  necessities. 
Mr.  John  Caveuder,  an  old  and  respectable  citizen,  eminent  for  his 
integrity  and  Christian  character,  devoted  his  whole  time  to  their  care. 
A  fund  was  raised  at  first,  by  a  call  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commis 
sion,  amounting  to  about  $3,800,  besides  a  large  amount  of  clothing. 
A  further  sum  of  $15,000  was  raised  by  an  order  of  Maj.  Gen.  Halleck,  by 
assessing  the  wealthy  class  of  secessionists,  in  St.  Louis,  for  this  object, 
and  from  this  resource  Mr.  Cavender  was  able  to  render  very  important 
aid  to  these  persecuted  and  destitute  people.  For  two  years  he  took 
almost  the  entire  charge  of  this  work,  in  which  he  had  the  counsel  ot 
the  members  of  the  Commission,  and  was  sometimes  aided  with 
funds  for  the  purpose,  when  other  sources  failed.  During  the  winter 
of  1863,  Mr.  Cavender,  whose  health  had  been  failing,  was  taken  sick 
and  died,  and  there  was  but  little  demand  from  that  time,  till  the  next 


125 

September,  for  any  further  aid  to  the  refugees.  In  this  charitable 
service  no  one  could  have  been  more  faithful  and  constant  than  Mr. 
Cavender  had  been;  and  in  other  relations  and  duties,  during-  an 
honorable  and  well  spent  life,  he  had  been  distinguished  as  the  upright 
citizen,  and  patron  of  Christian  learning1  and  philanthropy,  and  his 
death  was  greatly  lamented. 

In  August,  '63,  there  began  to  be  further  arrivals  of  destitute  refugees 
from  Arkansas,  Tennessee,  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Louisiana,  and  Texas. 
Many  of  them  were  women,  with  small  children,  poorly  clad,  often 
barefooted,  brought  up  the  river  on  Government  steamers,  and  landed 
here,  without  the  means  of  procuring  a  place  of  shelter  for  a  single 
night.  Their  husbands  had  been  killed  in  the  war,  had  been  murdered 
by  guerrillas,  had  been  conscripted  into  the  rebel  army,  or  had  died 
from  the  effects  of  exposure  in  lying  out  in  the  woods,  in  dens  and 
caves  of  the  earth,  to  escape  the  blood-hounds  of  the  rebel  conscription. 
At  first  these  poor  refugee  families  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  police 
but  the  police  station  was  not  a  fit  place  for  them,  although  some  of 
them  found  shelter  there. 

One  day,  late  in  August,  the  President  of  the  Commission  was  called 
to  see  what  could  be  done  for  a  poor  blind  woman,  and  her  family  of 
six  children,  who  had  walked  all  the  way  from  Arkansas  to  Holla,  Mo., 
her  little  children  leading  her  several  hundred  miles  by  the  hand,  and 
from  Rolla  they  had  been  brought  on  the  cars  to  St.  Louis,  as  a  charity. 
They  were  in  an  upper  unfurnished  room  of  the  Pacific  hotel,  the 
woman,  and  a  boy  about  twelve  years  old,  being  sick,  and  she  totally 
blind.  They  sat  upon  the  floor,  clothed  in  rags,  and  presented  a  sight 
that  would  have  moved  the  stoutest  heart  to  pity  and  to  tears. 

The  children  of  this  woman,  whose  name  was  Mrs.  Hargrave,  were 
adopted  by  Rev.  Dr.  Eliot,  and  placed  in  the  Mission  school  on  Eighth 
street,  and  the  mother  was  sent  to  the  St.  Louis  hospital,  kept  by  the 
Sisters  of  Charity.  Her  youngest  children  she  had  never  seen,  they 
having  been  born  since  she  became  blind.  The  parting  of  the  blind 


126 

mother  from  her  little  ones  was  a  touching-  scene.  But  she  gave  them 
up  willingly,  knowing  it  to  be  a  necessity,  and  for  their  good.  At  the 
Sisters'  hospital,  her  health,  after  several  months,  was  restored,  and, 
by  a  surgical  operation  of  Dr.  Pope,  the  cataracts  were  removed  from 
her  eyes,  and  she  was  able  to  see.  Her  children  were  then  brought  to 
her,  and  the  meeting  can  be  better  imagined  than  described. 

A  little  later,  another  refugee  mother  came,  and,  with  two  little 
children,  stood  at  the  door  of  the  Commission,  on  Fifth  street,  having 
no  place  to  go.  They  were  barefooted,  dusty  with  travel,  and  mise 
rably  clad.  The  mother  told  her  sad  story. 

Her  husband  had  been  murdered  by  guerrillas,  near  Fort  Smith, 
Ark.,  and  she  had  walked,  with  her  children,  to  Holla,  riding  part  of 
the  way  in  Government  wagons,  and  had  reached  St.  Louis,  as  a  place 
of  refuge.  She  had  to  stay  at  the  police  station  that  night.  The  next 
day,  three  women  and  children  arrived  from  Jackson,  Tenn.,  in  an 
equally  destitute  condition.  There  was  no  alternative  but  to  open 
another  refugee  home.  The  President  of  the  Commission  rented  the 
house,  39  Walnut  street,  for  the  purpose,  on  the  1st  of  September,  and 
from  that  date  to  the  present,  not  less  than  fifteen  hundred  refugees 
have  been  sheltered,  provided  for,  or  sent  on  their  way  to  friends,  or 
places  of  employment,  in  the  free  States.  By  an  arrangement  with 
Generals  Schofield  and  Rosecrans,  rations  and  fuel  are  allowed  from 
the  Government,  and  the  rent  is  paid  by  the  Quartermaster;  but  the 
incidental  expenses  of  the  home,  and  the  charities  in  clothing,  money, 
&c.,  are  provided  by  the  Commission.  It  is  under  the  superintendence 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Forman,  the  Secretary  of  the  Commission,  and  its  domestic 
arrangements  are  conducted  by  Miss  M.  Elliott,  as  Matron,  who,  in  a 
spirit  of  true  self-sacrifice,  devotes  her  time  and  strength  to  the  service 
of  these  poor  outcasts  from  the  rebellion.  The  expenses  and  charities 
of  the  Home,  and  for  destitute  refugee  families  in  the  city,  and  to  those 
going  beyond  St.  Louis,  have  been  about  $1,000  in  six  months,  beyond 
the  aid  received  from  the  Government  in  rations,  fuel,  rent,  and  trans- 


127 

portation.  Several  valuable  boxes  of  clothing  have  been  received  from 
New  England;  also  contributions  of  money  from  Boston,  from  the 
Ladi'es'  Loyal  League,  of  St.  Louis,  and  from  various  other  sources. 
The  receipts  for  this  charity  and  for  the  Freedmen,  and  the  disburse 
ments  are  kept  separate  from  the  other  funds  and  resources  of  the 
Commission,  so  that  there  is  no  misappropriation  of  what  is  designed 
for  the  soldiers  to  these  objects.  Contributors  are  always  requested 
to  designate  the  object  of  their  charities,  and  if  no  designation  is 
made,  they  go  into  the  sanitary  fund. 

The  number  of  refugees  at  Pilot  Knob,  at  the  present  time,  is  over 
1700  persons,  mostly  women  and  children.  They  are  chiclly  from 
Arkansas,  and  are  under  the  superintendence  of  a  faithful  and  excellent 
man,  Chaplain  A.  Wright,  who  has  been  specially  assigned  to  that  duty. 
Contributions  to  the  value  of  several  thousand  dollars  in  goods, 
clothing,  shoes,  medicines  for  the  sick,  hardware  and  sash  to  assist 
in  building  cheap  houses,  and  over  $1000  in  money  have  been  sent 
to  Mr.  Wright,  and  expended  in  a  judicious  manner.  At  a  time  of 
special  distress  the  Commission  sent  him  fifteen  barrels  of  clothing? 
eighty  dollars  in  material  for  clothing,  (purchased  by  Mrs.  Genera} 
Fisk  )  twenty  dollars  in  money,  sixty  dollars  in  medicines,  thirty  dollars 
worth  of  glazed  sash,  half  a  dozen  axes  for  women,  who  cut  their  own 
wood ;  and  of  the  other  contributions  a  large  portion  was  collected  by 
Mrs.  Fisk,  who  made  visits  to  Pilot  Knob,  and  was  most  energetic  and 
successful  in  her  endeavors  to  relieve  and  benefit  these  poor  people. 
Brig.  Gen.  Fisk,  also,  while  commanding  the  District,  did  every  thing 
in  his  power  to  minister  to  their  wants. 

The  Western  Commission  also  responded  to  an  appeal  from  Mr.  J.  R. 
Brown,  agent  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission  at  Leavenworth  City,  for  aid 
to  refugees  at  that  post,  and  at  Fort  Scott,  Kansas,  and  sent  thirty 
boxes  of  clothing  to  those  points,  and  a  thousand  Union  Spellers  for 
schools  of  the  freed  children  at  Leavenworth. 

At  Rolla,  Springfield,  Cape  Girardeau,  Cairo,  Columbus,  Memphis, 


1-28 

Helena,  and  Vicksburg,  there  are  multitudes  of  these  poor  refugees, 
numbered  by  thousands,  who  have  come  to  us  from  rebel  persecution 
and  outrage.,  or  have  been  driven,  by  the  ravages  of  war,  and  the 
destitution  of  food  and  clothing,  to  seek  a  refuge  within  our  lines. 
Humanity  requires  that  they  should  be  aided,  at  least  to  the  extent 
of  saving  life,  and  to  "enable  them  to  reach  places,  where  employment 
and  subsistance  can  be  found. 

Recently  a  necessity  has  arisen  for  a  Refugee  Home  at  Vicksburg, 
and  the  Commission  has  established  one  there,  under  the  superinten 
dence  of  Mr.  Mann,  with  Mrs.  Maria  Brooks  for  matron.  It  was 
opened  on  the  1st  of  April,  and  has  already  received  and  aided  2,160 
of  these  poor  people.  On  the  7th  of  May,  there  Avere  620  remaining, 
mostly  women  and  children.  Transportation  had  been  furnished  to 
those  wishing  to  emigrate  North,  and  employment  for  the  able-bodied 
men. 

The  large  number  of  destitute  white  children,  belonging  to  these 
tamilics,  having  no  means  of  instruction,  has  induced  the  Commission 
to  send  a  teacher,  Miss  G.  C.  Chapman,  to  Vicksburg,  to  open  a  school 
for  them,  in  connection  with  the  Home,  also  under  Mr.  Mann's  super 
intendence.  This  lady  is  now  on  her  way,  with  a  supply  of  school 
books  for  this  purpose. 

In  all  these  enterprises  of  benevolence,  Mr.  Mann,  as  the  agent 
of  the  Commission,  has  had  the  sanction,  advice  and  co-operation  of 
General  McArthur,  commanding  at  Vicksburg,  who  has  assigned  to 
the  Commission  suitable  buildings  for  the  purpose,  and  shown  his 
great  friendliness  in  this  and  many  other  ways. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  WESTERN  SANITARY  COMMISSION  —  APPROPRIATIONS  BY  THE 
GOVERNOR  AND  LEGISLATURE  OF  MISSOURI —LIBERALITY  OF  ST.  LOUIS-DONATIONS 
FROM  MASSACHUSETTS  AND  CALIFORNIA  —  GIFTS  OF  THE  PEOPLE  —  CONTRIBUTIONS 
FROM  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  LOYAL  STATES — DISTRIBUTIONS  BY  THE  COMMISSION — 
NUMBER  OF  ARTICLES  GIVEN — ESTIMATED  VALUE,  ONE  AND  A  HALF  MILLIONS  or 
DOLLARS  —  EXPENSES  OF  THE  COMMISSION  FOR  SALARIES  OF  AGENTS,  RENTS,  AND 
DISTRIBUTION  OF  STORES  LESS  THAN  ONE  PER  CENT. —FRIENDSHIP  OF  MAJOR 
GENERALS  FREMONT,  HAI.LECK,  CURTIS,  SCHOFIELD,  ROSECRANS,  SHERMAN,  AND 
LIEUT.  GEN.  GRANT  FOR  THE  COMMISSION  — ALSO,  OF  ASSISTANT  SURGEON  GENERAL 
WOOD,  GEN.  ALLEN,  COLONELS  PARSONS,  MYERS,  HAINES,  AND  MAJ.  SMITH — LADIES 
UNION  AID  SOCIETY  OF  ST.  Louis — ITS  WORK  —  RECEIPTS  AND  DISBURSEMENTS  — 
FREEDMEN'S  RELIEF  SOCIETY  OF  ST.  Louis — ITS  WOHK  —  RECEIPTS  AND  DISBURSE 
MENTS —  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  SANITARY  FAIR  —  CONCLUSION. 


The  resources  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  have  consisted  of 
the  voluntary  contributions  of  the  people  of  the  loyal  States.  Noble 
men  and  women  in  the  leading  towns  and  citizens  of  New  England,  in. 
the  great  Northwest,  and  in  a  few  of  the  great  cities  of  the  seaboard — 
Boston,  Providence,  New  York,  and  Philadelphia — have  for  nearly 
three  years  given  liberally  of  their  means  and  influence  to  strengthen 
this  Commission,  and  help  it  to  do  the  work  which  Providence  has 
given  it  to  do. 

But,  beside  all  these,  the  city  and  comity  of  St.  Louis,  and  the 
Legislature  of  Missouri,  have  acted  with  a  generosity  and  patriotism 
worthy  of  all  honor.  In  addition  to  the  liberal  contributions  of  the 
citizens,  during  the  first  year  of  the  labors  of  the  Commission,  the  late 
Gov.  Gamble,  from  an  appropriation  by  the  Convention  of  Missouri, 
for  the  benefit  of  Missouri  troops,  placed  $50,000  in  the  treasury  of  the 
Commission,  to  be  used  for  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  of  the  State  of 
Missouri.  This  sum  was  used,  not  by  singling  out  that  class  of  soldiers 
for  special  care,  but  caring  for  all  United  States  soldiers  alike,  an  ac- 
i 


130 

count  was  kept  of  the  extent  to  which  Missouri  troops  shared  in  these 
benefits,  and  the  amount,  being  far  beyond  the  appropriation,  the  State 
authorities  were  abundantly  satisfied  and  pleased  with  the  use  made 
of  these  funds. 

Again,  in  the  winter  of  1864,  the  Legislature  of  Missouri  made  an 
other  appropriation  of  $25,000  to  the  Commission,  to  be  used  in  the 
same  way,  and  the  county  court  of  the  county  of  St.  Louis  made  a 
donation  of  $2,000.  Besides  these  gifts,  there  was  raised,  at  the  Mer 
chants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis,  a  liberal  subscription  of  money  and  goods 
to  the  Commission,  for  the  army  of  Gen.  Grant,  during  the  siege  of 
Vicksburg,  amounting  in  value  to  about  $5,000,  and  December  25th, 
1863,  a  committee  of  the  merchants,  of  which  Mr.  Joseph  C.  Cabot  was 
chairman,  raised  another  subscription  of  $25,000  additional,  for  the 
general  purposes  of  the  Commission. 

Besides  a  constant  now  of  contributions  from  Boston  and  neighbor 
ing  towns  and  cities  of  Massachusetts,  that  city  at  one  time,  through 
a  committee,  of  which  R.  C.  Greenleaf  was  treasurer,  in  response  to 
an  appeal  from  Kev.  Dr.  Eliot,  on  behalf  of  the  Commission,  contribut 
ed  $50,000  ;  and  the  distant  State  of  California,  stimulated  by  the 
eloquence  and  patriotism  of  the  lamented  Thomas  Starr  King,  sub 
scribed  $50,000,  being  part  of  a  donation  of  $200,000,  the  balance  of 
which  went  to  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission.  These  contri 
butions  of  money,  with  the  gifts  of  friends  in  New  York  city,  through 
that  noble  and  patriotic  citizen,  James  A.  Roosevelt,  and  from  other 
towns  and  cities  of  the  loyal  States,  have  amounted  in  the  aggregate, 
to  $275,000  in  money  ;  while  the  stores  contributed  from  the  same 
sources,  and  from  the  Ladies'  LTnion  Aid  Societies,  of  almost  every 
village  and  city  from  Maine  to  Minnesota,  and  from  Boston  to  St.  Louis, 
consisting  of  blankets,  comforts,  sheets,  pillows,  pillow-slips,  socks, 
slippers,  mittens,  bandages,  lint,  salves,  cotton  and  woolen  shirts  and 
drawers,  hospital  garments,  dressing  gowns,  dried  and  canned  fruits, 
tomatoes,  jellies,  domestic  wines,  blackberry  cordials,  butter,  vegeta- 


131 

blcs,  pickles,  books,  reading  matter,  and  thousands  of  other  useful 
articles,  have  amounted  in  value  to  more  than  a  million  and  a  quarter 
of  dollars. 

Out  of  these  contributions,  the  Commission  has  issued  to  the  western 
armies;  985,984  articles ;  28,838  to  the  western  navy ;  80,505  to  freedmen, 
and  5,848  to  Union  refugees,  making  an  aggregate  of  1,101,174  articles. 

In  addition  to  these,  many  thousands  of  articles  were  given  out 
during  the  first  three  months  of  the  labors  of  the  Commission,  that  no 
account  was  made  of;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe,  that  many 
thousand  more  have  escaped  entry  ;  it  is  so  difficult,  in  the  hurry 
occasioned  by  a  great  battle,  or  a  pressing  emergency,  to  keep  an  ac 
curate  record.  During  the  months  of  June,  1863,  and  February,  '64, 
the  distributions  of  the  Commission  reached  184,333  articles.  These, 
it  is  true,  were  busy  months,  but  not  more  so  than  those  which  suc 
ceeded  the  battles  of  Fort  Donelson,  Pea  Ridge,  and  Pittsburgh  Land 
ing.  During  the  first  nine  months  of  the  labors  of  the  Commission,  its 
records  show  a  distribution  of  over  250.000  articles,  so  that  we  are 
quite  confident  of  a  large  under  estimate  in  the  statistics  here  given, 
but  they  accord  with  the  books,  and  we  are  not  willing  to  make  any 
exaggerations.  The  expenses  of  the  Commission,  during  the  whole 
period  of  its  labors,  for  the  salaries  of  agents,  employees,  rents,  etc.,  is 
less  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  whole  amount  distributed.  The  services 
of  the  members  of  the  Commission,  which  includes  the  President  and 
Treasurer,  are  gratuitous. 

Through  all  this  immense  labor,  from  September  5th,  1861,  to  the 
present  date,  the  Commission  has  enjoyed  the  friendly  confidence  and 
co-operation  of  every  commander  of  the  Department;  and  to  Major 
Generals  Fremont,  Halleck,  Curtis,  Schofield,  and  Rosecrans,  to  the 
Secretary  of  "War,  and  to  Lieut.  Gen'l  Grant,  and  Maj.  Gen'l  Sherman 
in  the  field,  it  is  much  indebted  for  their  support,  and  the  facilities 
it  has  enjoyed  in  the  transportation  of  supplies,  in  letters  of  commen 
dation,  in  access  to  the  armies,  in  the  respect  paid  to  it  by  surgeons 


132 

and  subordinate  officers,  and  in  varied  opportunities  of  usefulness.  To 
Assistant  Surgeon  General  R.  C.  Wood,  Gen.  Robert  Allen,  Colonels 
L.  B.  Parsons,  and  William  M.  Myers,  of  the  Quartermaster's  Depart 
ment;  to  Col.  Haiues  and  Capt.  King  of  the  Commissary  Department, 
and  to  Maj.  Robert  Smith,  of  the  Pay  Department,  the  Commission  is 
indebted  for  many  favors,  and  for  obliging  and  gentlemanly  treat 
ment  on  all  occasions. 

The  names  of  contributors  to  the  funds  and  stores  of  the  Commission, 
it  would  be  a  pleasure  to  record  here,  yet  their  number  is  so  great, 
and  the  space  allotted  to  this  work  already  so  nearly  filled,  that  the 
writer  is  not  able  to  do  them  this  honor ;  but  their  names  are  registered, 
in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,  recorded  by  the  angels  in  Heaven,  and  they 
shall  all  be  known  and  recognized  in  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

Before  concluding  this  work,  it  remains  to  give  a  brief  account  of  two 
co-operative  associations  in  St.  Louis :  the  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society, 
and  the  Freedmeir  s  Relief  Society,  and  to  notice  the  Mississippi  Valley 
Sanitary  Fair,  now  in  successful  operation,  while  these  concluding 
pages  are  being  written — an  euterprize  inaugurated  for  the  benefit  of 
the  cause  in  which  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  and  these  kindred 
associations,  are  engaged. 

The  Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society  of  St.  Louis  was  organized  August 
2d,  1861.  Mrs.  C.  W.  Stevens  was  the  first  President.  Its  officers  at 
present  are,  Mrs.  Alfred  Clapp,  President,  Mrs.  Saml.  C.  Davis,  Mrs. 
T.  M.  Post,  and  Mrs.  Robert  Anderson,  Vice-Presidents ;  Mrs.  S.  B. 
Kellogg,  Treasurer;  Miss  II.  A.  Adams,  Recording  Secretary,  and 
Miss  Belle  Holmes,  Corresponding  Secretary.  Miss  A.  S.  Debenham 
and  Miss  S.  F.  McCracken  have  also  acted  as  Secretaries  in  the  absence 
of  the  regular  Recording  Secretary,  for  several  months,  at  Nashville, 
Tennessee. 

The  friendly  connection  and  co-operation  of  this  association  with  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission  has  already  appeared  in  the  course  of 
these  pages,  and  want  of  space  now  precludes  a  full  statement  of  its 


133 

separate  work,  which  has  been  already  made  public  iu  a  valuable  re 
port  of  forty-eight  pages  for  the  year  1863. 

The  work  of  the  society  has  consisted  in  hospital  visiting,  in  aid  to 
soldiers'  families,  in  the  distribution  of  religious  reading,  from  the 
Christian  Commission,  in  volunteering  as  nurses  after  the  great  battles, 
in  making  up  hospital  garments  and  rolling  bandages,  in  receiving  and 
distributing  sanitary  stores,  in  preparing  delicate  food  for  the  sick,  at 
its  special  diet  kitchen  at  Beuton  Barracks,  where  19,382  dishes  had 
been  prepared  from  May  20th  to  October  1st,  1863,  and  in  assisting  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission  in  its  work.  Of  articles  made,  up  to 
October  1st,  1863,  its  report  shows  37,676  sheets,  2,664  shirts,  1,765 
pairs  of  drawers,  2,568  bed  sacks,  79,324  pillow  cases,  3,558  towels, 
amounting  to  127,555  articles.  In  doing  this  work  soldiers'  wives  were 
given  employment,  and  $6,130.85  paid  out  for  the  purpose,  the  articles 
being  used  by  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  and  the  Medical  Pur 
veyor.  The  receipts  of  the  Society,  in  money  alone,  up  to  Sept.  25th, 
1863,  had  been  $31,137.42,  and  its  disbursements  $28,987.85.  Its  re 
ceipts  in  sanitary  stores  have  been  very  great,  coming  largely  from  the 
noble  women  of  St.  Louis,  and  its  distributions  of  the  same  class  of 
articles  issued  by  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  to  Oct.  1st,  1863, 
were  225,134  articles. 

The  Freedmen's  Relief  Society  of  St.  Louis  is  a  local  organization 
of  ladies,  who  have  rendered  most  useful  service  and  aid  in  behalf  of 
the  poor  frecdmen,  and  their  families  at  St.  Louis,  and  in  sending  con 
tributions  to  Memphis,  Helena,  and  other  points  on  the  lower  Missis 
sippi.  Their  co-operation  with  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission  has 
been  very  efficient,  and  thousands  of  poor  "  contrabands,"  at  Benton 
Barracks,  and  elsewhere,  have  had  occasion  to  bless  them. 

The  officers  of  this  association  are  Mrs.  Washington  King,  President, 
Mrs.  Lucien  Eaton,  Vice  President,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Bailey,  Treasurer,  Mrs. 
Wm.  T.  Hazard,  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  Mrs.  Enos  Clarke, 
Recording  Secretary.  Its  Board  of  Managers'are  Mrs.  H.  A.  Nelson,  Mrs. 


134 

H.  Kennedy,  Mrs.  O.  H.  Platte,  Mrs.  N.  Chapman,  Mrs.  Wm.  McKee, 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Parker,  Mrs.  Dr.  McMurray,  Mrs.  John  McLean,  Mrs.  Tru 
man  Woodruff,  Mrs.  L.  Brawner,  Mrs.  W.  D.  Butler,  and  Miss  A.  L. 
Forbes.  The  following  gentlemen  are  also  an  advisory  committee: — 
Rev.  II.  A.  Nelson,  D.D.,  Rev.  Henry  Cox,  Lucieu  Eaton,  Esq.,  and 
Henry  Hitchcock,  Esq. 

During  the  summer  of  1863,  several  thousands  of  freedmen  were 
brought  from  Helena  and  elsewhere,  to  St.  Louis,  and  quartered  in  the 
old  Missouri  Hotel ;  a  hospital  was  opened  for  the  sick,  on  Sixth  street, 
and  the  society  had  its  hands  full  in  assisting  to  clothe  them,  and  min 
ister  to  their  necessities.  Many  of  these  people  were  afterwards  for 
warded  to  Kansas,  Iowa,  and  Illinois,  as  hired  laborers.  But  a  large 
work  still  remained  for  the  freedmen's  families  at  Benton  Barracks, 
where  there  are  many  rejected  recruits,  and  families  of  colored  soldiers, 
to  be  assisted  and  provided  for.  A  school  for  colored  children  is  now 
taught  at  that  place,  by  Miss  Knight,  a  lady  employed  by  the  ATestern 
Sanitary  Commission,  books  are  furnished,  and  a  similar  work  of 
instruction  is  carried  on  for  the  colored  soldiers  while  they  remain. 

The  receipts  of  this  society,  for  the  year  1863,  were,  in  money, 
$4,863.20,  and  its  expenditures  $3,800.36,  and  its  receipts  and  dis 
bursements  in  goods,  clothing,  etc.,  a  large,  but  unestiinated  amount. 
The  articles  of  clothing  distributed  were  4,356,  besides  large  quantities 
of  linseys,  osnaburgs,  and  blue  checks,  to  be  made  into  garments.  Five 
hundred  dollars  were  also  appropriated  towards  a  church  and  school 
house,  at  Island  No.  10,  and  93  boxes  of  clothing,  were  sent  to  Colum 
bus,  Memphis,  Helena,  Bolivar,  Pittsburg  Landing,  and  Benton 
Barracks. 

As  the  last  pages  of  this  work  are  passing  through  the  press,  a  noble 
enterprize  is  in  progress,  in  this  city,  for  replenishing  the  funds  of  the 
Western  Sanitary  Commission,  and  of  these  kindred  and  co-operative 
associations,  that  they  may  be  enabled  to  go  on  with  their  noble  and 
philanthropic  labors,  during  the  continuance  of  the  war.  The  great 


135 

fairs  that  had  been  held  in  the  large  cities  of  the  East,  and  in  Chicago 
and  Cincinnati,  in  aid  of  the  United  States  Sanitary  Commission,  gave 
nothing  to  the  funds  of  the  Western  Commission.  Illinois,  Indiana, 
and  Ohio,  neighboring  States,  have  poured  their  great  and  generous 
contributions  chiefly  through  that  channel;  and  their  own  regiments, 
as  this  history  will  show,  have  been  the  constant  care  of  the  "Western 
Sanitary  Commission,  both  in  the  field  and  in  its  Soldier's  Homes. 
With  large  and  increasing  demands  upon  its  treasury  and  supplies, 
its  resources  had  begun  to  fail.  The  example  of  other  cities  sug 
gested  the  idea  of  a  Mississippi  Valley  Sanitary  Fair  at  St.  Louis, 
and  the  enterprise  was  commenced  in  the  latter  part  of  the  month 
of  January,  by  a  large  preliminary  meeting,  at  Mercantile  Library 
Hall,  presided  over  by  the  Mayor  of  the  city,  Hon.  Chauncey 
I.  Filley  ;  at  which  an  organization  was  effected  for  this  purpose. 
Speeches  were  made  by  the  Mayor,  by  Eev  William  G.  Eliot,  D.  D., 
by  Brig.  Gen'l  C.  B.  Fisk,  by  Major  Gen'l  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  by  Maj. 
McKee  Dunn,  and  Professor  Amasa  McCoy.  A  letter  was  read  from 
Lieut.  Gen'l  Grant,  in  which  he  expressed  the  heartiest  sympathy  in 
the  undertaking,  and  bore  testimony  to  the  many  tons  (amounting  to 
thousands,)  of  sanitary  stores  furnished  to  his  army  by  the  Western 
Sanitary  Commission.  The  following  officers  and  committees  were  then 
elected,  to  inaugurate  and  conduct  this  great  enterprise. 

Maj.  Gen'l  W.  S.  Rosecrans,  President;  Gov.  Willard  P.  Hall,  1st 
Vice  President ;  Mayor  C.  I.  Filley,  2d  Vice  President;  Brig.  Gen. 
C.  B.  Fisk,  3d  Vice  President;  Brig.  Gen.  J.  W.  Davidson,  4th  Vice 
President ;  Mayor  Jas.  S.  Thomas,  5th  Vice  President ;  Sam'l  Copp,  jr., 
Treasurer ;  Maj.  Alfred  Mackay,  Cor.  Secretary. 

STANDING  COMMITTEE. — James  E.  Yeatman,  Wm.  G.  Eliot,  George 
Partridge,  Carlos  S.  Greeley,  John  B.  Johnson, — members  of  the  West 
ern  Sanitary  Commission. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE  OF  GENTLEMEN. — James  E.  Yeatman,  Chair 
man,  J.  H.  Lightner,  E.  W.  Fox,  Sam'l  Copp,  jr.,  Geo.  D.  Hall,  S.  R. 


136 

Filley,  Charles  B.  Hubbell,  Jr.,  James  Blackmail,  Win.  D'Oench,  Wm. 
Patrick,  J.  O.  Pierce,  Gustavus  W.  Dreyer,  II.  A.  Homeyer,  B.  R. 
Bonner,  Adolphus  Meier,  Chas.  Speck,  Wm.  Mitchell,  Wm.  Adriance, 
George  E.  Leighton,  M.  L.  Linton,  Wm.  H.  Beiiton,  Dwight  Durkec, 
Amadee  Yalle,  Wyllys  King,  George  P.  Plant,  Morris  Collins,  J.  C. 
Cabot,  N.  C.  Chapman,  John  D.  Perry,  S.  H.  Laflin,  Jas.  Ward. 

EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE  OF  LADIES. — Mrs.  C.  I.  Filley,  President; 
Miss  Anna  M.  Debenham,  Recording  Secretary  ;  Mr.  Gen'l  V.  P.  Van 
Antwerp,  Corresponding  Secretary;  Miss  Phoebe  W.  Conzins,  Corres 
ponding  Secretary;  Mrs.  Samuel  Copp,  Jr.,  Treasurer;  Mrs.  Robert 
Anderson,  Mrs.  George  Partridge,  Mrs.  J.  E.  D.  Couzins,  Mrs.  E.  M. 
Weber,  Mrs.  Truman  Woodruff,  Mrs.  Clinton  B.  Fisk,  Mrs.  F.  A.  Dick, 
Mrs.  Alfred  Clapp,  Mrs.  Dr.  E.  Hale.  Mrs.  A.  S.  W.  Goodwin,  Mrs. 
H.  T.  Blow,  Mrs.  Amelia  Reihl,  Mrs.  N.  C.  Chapman,  Mrs.  Washing 
ton  King,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Ranlett,  Mrs.  T.  B.  Edgar,  Mrs.  C.  S.  Greeley, 
Mrs.  W.  T.  Hazard,  Mrs.  Charles  D.  Drake,  Mrs.  Wm.  McKee,  Mrs. 
Samuel  C.  Davis,  Mrs.  McKee  Dunn,  Mrs.  R.  H.  Morton,  Mrs.  Dr. 
O'Reilly,  Mrs.  S.  B.  Kellogg,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Collier,  Mrs.  W.  A.  Doan, 
Mrs.  Dr.  Hseussler,  Mrs.  Adolphus  Abeles,  Mrs.  F.  P.  Blair,  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  W.  Clarke,  Mrs.  II.  Dreyer,  Mrs.  John  Wolff,  Mrs.  Ulrich 
Busch,  Mrs.  John  J.  Hoppe,  Mrs.  Charles  Eggers,  Mrs.  Wm.  D'Oench, 
Mrs.  Dr.  Hill,  Mrs  Adolphus  Meier,  Mrs.  John  C.  Vogel,  Mrs.  R. 
Barth,  Mrs.  H.  C.  Gernpp,  Mrs.  O.  D.  Filley,  Mrs.  Henry  Stagg, 
Mrs.  E.  W.  Fox. 

Various  subordinate  committees  were  afterwards  appointed,  repre 
senting  all  the  trades  and  branches  of  business  in  St.  Louis,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  conduct  a  department  in  the  Fair  for  the 
benefit  of  freedmen  and  Union  refugees,  so  that  contributions  might 
be  made  for  this  charity,  by  itself,  and  kept  separate  from  the  general 
sanitary  work  of  the  army. 

Appeals  were  immediately  sent  out  to  the  people  of  the  Mississippi 
valley,  and  to  the  whole  country  ;  the  newspaper  press  of  St.  Louis 


137 

lent  their  columns,  with  great  generosity,  to  the  promotion  of  the 
enterprise,  and  published  largely  in  its  interests ;  and  friendly  papers 
abroad  have  given  it  all  the  publicity  that  could  be  desired. 

The  merchants  and  private  citizens,  the  noble  men  and  women  of  St. 
Louis,  have  taken  hold  of  the  enterprise  with  a  generous  zeal,  and 
determined  to  make  it  a  decided  success.  Friends  in  Boston,  New 
York,  New  Bedford,  New  Haven,  have  made  handsome  donations, 
and  some  of  them  have  sent  representatives  to  aid  in  the  work.  While 
these  labors  were  being  performed,  a  splendid  building  was  erected  on 
Twelfth  Street,  from  Olive  St.  to  St.  Charles  St.,  500  feet  long  and  114 
feet  wide,  with  wings  on  Locust  street,  100  feet  each  in  length,  beyond 
the  main  building,  and  54  feet  wide,  with  an  octagon  centre  75  feet  in 
diameter,  and  50  feet  high.  A  stercoscopticon  has  also  been  built  at  one 
side ;  and  the  whole  has  been  arranged,  decorated,  divided  into  apart 
ments,  and  filled  with  contributions  from  art  and  nature,  of  the  most 
valuable  kinds.  From  the  mineral  and  agricultural,  and  manufactur 
ing  resources  of  Missouri  and  the  great  west,  from  lakes  and  oceans, 
and  rivers,  from  battle  fields  and  farms  and  workshops,  and  stores  of 
merchandize,  gifts  have  come  that  make  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
valuable  collections  that  has  ever  been  gathered  on  this  continent. 

Besides  these  contributions  in  goods,  at  the  opening  of  the  Fair,  on 
the  17th  of  May,  $200,000  in  money  had  already  been  given  towards  the 
object,  of  which  much  the  largest  portion  comes  from  the  citizens  of 
St.  Louis,  a  city  that  has  probably  suffered  more  from  the  war  than  any 
of  the  loyal  cities  of  the  Union. 

For  three  days  the  Fair  has  been  in  successful  progress,  and  before  it 
closes,  this  sketch  of  the  labors  and  history  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Com 
mission  will  be  added  to  its  contributions,  and  explain  more  fully  the 
great  work  for  which  it  has  been  held,  and  to  which  its  results  will  be 
sacredly  appropriated.  Written  under  a  pressure  of  other  duties,  and 
without  opportunity  of  revision,  its  chapters  going  to  press  as  fast  as 
they  can  be  given  to  the  printers,  it  must  needs  contain  some  imper- 


138 

fections  and  errors,  and  some  omissions  will  doubtless  have  occurred ; 
but  a  frequent  demand  has  been  made  for  such  a  work,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  it  will  be  of  some  service  to  the  great  cause  we  have  at  heart,  and 
give  to  the  world  a  better  appreciation  of  the  labors  and  sacrifices  that 
are  necessary  to  sustain  our  heroes  in  the  great  conflict  in  which  we  are 
engaged — a  conflict  of  the  free  States  of  the  Republic  with  the  slave- 
power  of  the  South,  which  has  undertaken  to  divide  our  country,  build 
itself  up  on  the  ruins  of  a  beneficent  Government,  and  perpetuate, 
through  coming  ages,  the  crime  of  holding  millions  of  the  human  race 
in  bondage.  In  this  contest,  in  which  the  Providence  of  a  just  God 
is  clearly  seen,  vindicating  itself,  let  it  be  our  part  to  be  found  on 
the  side  of  humanity,  of  Christian  civilization,  of  liberty  and  law;  and 
may  God  save  the  right! 


INDEX. 


Accountability  of  agents , 104 

Alexander,  C.  T.,  Surg.  U.  S.  A 66 

Allen,  A.  L.,  M.  D 66 

Allen    Gen .  Robert 132 

Appeal  of  Western  Sanitary  Commission,  57,  58— Response. . '. 59,  114 

Army  of  the  Frontier,  60— Agents  and  stores  sent  to 60 

Army  of  the  South-West,  28— its  arrival  at  Helena,  55— its  toilsome  march,  55— its  pri 
vations  and  bravery ,  55— sickness  at  Helena 55 

Arkansas  Post,  battle  or, 66,  69 

Arnot's  buil  ling  converted  into  a  hospital 45 

Atkinson ,  Edward 114 

Azpell,  T.F.,  Surg.  U.  S.  V 27,  44,  45 

Battles,  of  Booneville,  Dug  Spring,  Carthage  and  Wilson's  Creek,  5 — of  Lexington  9— 
of  Pea  Ridge,  15,  27— of  Fort  Donelson,  23— Naval  fight  at  Memphis,  53— of  Cross 

Hollows,  60— of  Cane  Hill,  60— of  Prairie  Grove, 61 

Banks ,  Gen . ,  his  army  supplied 99 

Bailley ,  Dr 5 

Barker,  Mrs 96 

Barnard ,  James  M 59,  114 

Benton  Barracks 13,  14 

Benton  Barracks  Hospital,  10,  73— number  ol  patients,  73— per  centage  of  deaths 73 

Bixby,  Geo.  H.,  Ass't  Surg.  U.  S.  N 54 

Blunt,  Gen 60 

Bloomtield,  Mo 91 

Boston,  Mass.,  its  liberality 59 

Bottomley,  L.  H.,M.  D 66 

Bradley,  W.  H..M.  D 66 

Bradley,  Rev.  W.  H 95 

Breckenridge,  Miss 69 

Breed,  B.  B.,  Surg.  U.  S.  V 87 

Brooks,  Mrs.  Maria ]2 

Cabot,  Joseph  C . . . , 130 

California,  liberal  donation 130 

Calloway,  L.  H.,  M.  D % 64 

Cane  Hill ,  battle  of 60 

Cape  Girardtr ati 92 

Carthage ,  battle  of. 5 

Casselberry,  Surg.,  U.  S.  V 92 

Cavender,  John,  124,  his  labors  for  refugees,  death  and  character 124,  125 

1 '  Champion, ' '  Steamer  sent  with  Sanitary  goods  to  Vicksburg 77 

Chapman,  Miss  G.  C.,  teacher  for  refugees  at  Vicksburg 128 

Chattanooi-a,  stores  sent  to,  99 — agent  there 99 

Christmas  at  Soldiers'  Home 37 

Christian  Commission,  U.  S 83,  96 

"  City  of  Alton,"  hospital  boat 75,  106 

1 '  City  of  Louisiana, ' '  hospital  boat 25,  44,  45,  106 


140 


"City  of  Memphis,"  hospital  boat 46,  iw 

Clapp,  Mrs.  Alfred 69,  132,  13G 

Clark,  Mrs.  Wm 69 

Clark,  Albert 09 

Clarendon ,  Ark 92 

Columbus,  Ky . ,  Soldiers'  Home  at 83 

Collins,  H.  E 99 

Colt,  Mrs.  Henrietta  L 69 

Colored  troops,  74— sick  of  at  Benton  Barracks 74 

Conclusion 138 

Contributions,  from  what  States,  Cities,  and  Towns,  10, 11, 12,  46,  59,  114— from  Boston, 

114,  from  other  sources 127,  129 

Copeland ,  Gen 90 

Cotton  on  leased  plantations,  119— taxed,  119— raised  by  tVeedmen  for  themselves 120 

Couzins,  Mrs.  J.  E.  D 69 

Crawshaw,  Mrs.  J 69 

' '  Crescent  City , ' '  hospital  boat 44,  45,  106 

Cross  Hollows ,  battle  of ; 60 

Cullum,  Geo.  \V.,  Brig.  Gen 15 

Curtis,  S.  R.,  Maj.  Gen.,  15,  34,  113,  131— letter  of 34 

Daggett ,  Mrs .  Lydia  II 121 

Dart,  Miss 123 

Davidson,  J.  W.  Brig.  Gen 91 

Davis,  C.  H.  Commodore,  his  Letter  to  the  Commission 56 

De  Camp,  Medical  Director 5,  16 

Deodorizing  coffin 51 

Derby,  Stirg.  U.  S.  A 55 

Diseases  at  Benton  Barracks,  winter  of  -61-2 13 

Distributions  of  Sanitary  Stores,  15,  47,  77— to  Grant's  army,  78,  94,  97— to  Banks' 
Army,  99-at  Memphis,  75 -what  Hospitals  supplied,  104, 105 -what  Regiments  sup 
plied,  105,  106— what  Hospital  Steamers  supplied,  106— what  Gunboats  supplied,  106 

—to  Freedmen ,  121— to  Refugees ,  127  -whole  number  of  articles 131 

Dix,  MissD.  L.,  Sup't  of  Female  Nurses  in  the  U.  S.  Hospitals 7,  20 

Drummer  Boy,  81-  death  of. 81 

D u vail '  s  Bluff . 92 

Educational  Commission  for  Freedmen,  Boston,  114— Contributions  from 114 

Eliot,  W.  G.,  D.  D.,  8,  113,  130-  Letter  of,  94— orphans  adopted  by 125 

Eliot  Hospital,  St.  Louis 10 

Elliott,  Miss  Melcenia 126 

1 '  Empress, ' '  Hospital  boat 44,  45 

Endicott,  Wm . ,  Jr 114 

Farrar,   Col 118 

Fifth  Street  Hospital,  St.  Louis 8,  9 

Fish,  Rev.  J.  F.,  Post  Chaplain 66 

Fithian,  Dr.,  agent  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission 93 

Fisher,  Rev.  H.  D 114 

Fisk,  Mrs  C.  B.,  127— her  labors  for  refugees 127 

Fisk,  C.  B.,  Brig.  Gen 127 

Floating  Hospitals ,  origi n  of 25 

Flying  Hospitals 62,  63 

Forman,  Rev.  J.  G.,  Secretary 16,  112,  126 

Fort  Donelson,  battle  of,  23,  131— wounded  brought  to  St.  Louis 24 

Fort  Blunt,  94— Sanitary  Stores  sent  to 94 

Foster,  R.  K.,  Supt 84 

Foster,  H .  R 121 

Franklin,  E.  C 27 

Fremont,  John  C.,  Maj.  Gen 7,  10,  13,  131 


141 

Fremont,  Mrs 

Fremont  Relief  Society 18 

Freedmen  of  the  Mississippi,  110— sufferings  of,  110— relief  sent  to  Helena,  112— labors 
of  Miss  Maria  R.  Mann  at  Helena,  112,  113— visit  of  Mr.  Yeatman  to,  114— letter  of 
the  Commission  to  the  President  concerning  them,  114— Chaplain  Fisher's  visit  to 
New  England  on  account -of,  114-arrival  of  at  Vicksburg,  123 -distributions  to, 
123— Freedmen 's  Aid  Committee  formed  at  Boston,  114— Educational  Commission, 
114  — contributions  from,  1H— other  associations,  115— wages  of  Freedmen  not 

paid,  wrongs  by  military  authorities,  116,  117— Freedmens'  Home  farms 119 

Freedmen's  Relief  Society  of  St.  Louis,  133-its  officers,  133— its  work 134 

Friends 115 

Fritz,  Wm.,  M.  D ^ 

Gamble,  late  Governor 129 

Gangrene  Hospital,  Memphis 75 

Gayoso  Hospital ,  Memphis 75 

Gibbon,  John 37 

• '  Glasgow, ' '  Hospital  transport 75 

Good  Samaritan  Hospital 10 

Grant,  U.  S.  Maj.  Gen.,  08,  131— his  care  of  the  health  of  his  Army 72 

Greeley,  C.  S 8 

Qreenleaf,  R .  C 59,  130 

Grove,  J.  H.  Surg.,  U.  S.  V 23,  74 

Guerrillas  Destroy  Sanitary  Stores ,  91— Murder 126 

Guests  at  Soldiers'  Homes 35,  36,  82,  84,  85,  86 

Gunboats,  53,  69— supplied  with  Stores,  106  -  rebel  Gunboats  destroyed  at  Memphis 53 

Hagar,  Miss  Sarah  J. ,  Teacher  to  Freedmen,  121— death  and  character 122 

Haines ,  Col •. 132 

Halleck,  Maj.  Gen '13,  131 

Hamilton,  Gen.  T.  C 80 

Hammond,  Dr.  Wm.  A.,  Surg.  Gen.,  U.  S.  A.,  Letter  to 49 

Hardy ,  A  Ipheus 114 

Hargrave,  Mrs. ,  blind  refugee 125 

Harrington ,  S .  C . ,  Surg 94 

Harvey,  Mrs.,  of  Wisconsin 81,  123 

Helena,  Ark.,  occupied,  55-sickness  there,  55— churches  converted  into  hospitals,  55— 

Soldiers'  Home  at 84 

Herron ,  Gen 61 

Hodgen,  JohnT.,  Surgeon  U.  S.  V 9 

Hoge,  Mrs 69 

Holly  Springs,  Miss 68 

Hopkins,  Surgeon  U.  S.  X 54 

Hospitals.  ^ 5,  6,  8,  9,  10,  14,  27,  45,  56,  64,  65,  66,  75,   86,  87,     89 

Hospital  Cars 10 

Hospital  Steamers 25,  26,  44,  45,  46,  54,     75 

Hughes,  Charles  H. ,  Surgeon  U.  S.  V 103 

Hunt,  Win.  Richardson,  (rebel),  80— Mansion  converted  to  a  Soldier's  Home 80,  81 

Hunter,  Maj.  Gen 10 

Hun tsville ,  Ala 96 

Illustration ,  of  erroneous  complaints 101 

'  'Imperial , ' '  Hospital  Boat 44 .  45 

Incidents 11,  34,  37,  91,  101,  117,  118,  125,  126 

Ironton 14 

Jackson  Hospital ,  Memphis 75 

"January,  D.  A."  Hospital  Boat 44,  45 

Jefi'erson  City,  Mo 14 

Jefferson  Barrack' 8  Hospital 64,  65 


142 

Jefferson  Hospital,  Memphis 75 

Johnson,  J.B.,  M.D 8 

Johnson ,  Miss  Ida 33 

King,  Capt 132 

King,  Rev.  T.  S 130 

King,  Mrs .  Washington 69 

Knight,  Miss  A.  M 121 

Ladies'  Union  Aid  Society,  St.  Louis,  18,  23,  69,  70,  96— officers  of,  132— its  work 133 

Ladies'  Union  Aid  Societies, 130 

Ladies  Loyal  League 127 

Lamb ,  Mrs .  Thomas 59 

Latham,  II.,  M.  1) 66 

Lawrence ,  A .  A 114 

Lawson  Hospital 64,  66 

Leeds,  Mr 64 

Leslie,  S.,  M.  D 66 

Letters,  of  Gen.  Curtis,  34- of  Mr.  Yeatman,71,  95-of  Col.  Parsons,  43-of  the  Commis 
sion,  49,  114-of  Commodore  Davis,  56-of  Chaplain  Peake,  93— of  Surg.  Whitehill, 
94— of  Surg.  Harrington,  94-of  Rev.  Dr.  Eliot,  94,  95-of  Col.  Webber,  95-of  A. 

W.  Plattenburg,  96— of  Surg.  Rex 97 

Livermore,  Mrs.  M.  A 69 

Lodgings  at  Soldiers'  Homes 36,  37,  82,  83,  84,  85,  86 

Loring,  Chas.  G 114 

Mann ,  N .  M . ,  S  up  t . . . 84 ,  1 23 

Mann,  Miss  Maria  R 112,  113 

May,   Dr 118 

Marine  Brigade 120 

Marine  Hospital,  St.  Louis,  64— ditto  at  Memphis 75 

Marsh,  W.  L.,  121— letter  from 122 

Marston,  J.  J.,M.  D 60 

Me  Arthur,  Gen 128 

McLane,  P.,  M.  D 65 

McClernand,  J.  A.,  Maj.  Gen 69 

McKim,  Rev.  Philip,  Chaplarn 66 

Massachusetts 59 

Meals  at  Soldiers'  Homes 36,  83,  84,  ,85 

Memphis  Captured,  53-Soldiers'  Home  at,  80,  81,  82-hospitals  at 75 

Merchants'   Exchange 130 

Mellen,  W.  P.,  Treasury  Dept 119,  120 

Military  prisons  at  St.  Louis,  45,  88— at  Alton,  111. ,  88— report  of 88 

Mississippi  Valley  Sanitary  Fair,  134-its  organization,  135— its  success 137 

Mission  School,  St.  Louis 125 

Missouri  Legislature,  appropriation  of 129,  130 

Missouri  troops  cared  for 129,  130 

Mound  City  Hospital 27 

Murphy,  Col.  R.  C.,  disgraced 70 

Myers,  Col.  Wm.  M 132 

1 '  Nashville, ' '  hospital  boat ."    75 

National  Freedmen's  Relief  Association 120,  123 

Naval  Squadron  of  the  Mississippi 53,  54,  56,  57 

New  England,  its  liberality £9 

Newell,  Rev.  F.  R.,  agent,  61— his  death 62 

New  House  of  Refuge  Hospital 5 

New  Orleans  Soldiers '  Home 83 

N ightingale ,  Florence 3 ,  20 

Northwestern  Freedmen's  Aid  Commission 120 


143 

Nurses,  Female,  qualifications  of,  20— number  employed,  21— General  Order,  20,  21— 
character  of  Nurses,  20-premiums  awarded  to,  42-only  allowed  to  General  Hos 
pitals,  74— list  of  honor 107 

Xute,  Chaplain  E . ,  Sup' t ^ 

Officers '  Hospital ,  Memphis 75 

Orange,  S.  J.,  Sup't,  83- Mrs.  Orange,  matron 84 

Origin  of  Sanitary  Commissions,  3— of  the  U.  S.  Sanitary  Commission,  4— of  the  West 
ern  Sanitary  Commission 4—7 

Ostram,  MissA.L....f 35»  83 

Overton  Hospital,  Memphis 75 

Pacific  Hospital,  St.  Louis 1° 

Paige,  Jas.  A.,  Chaplain 64 

Parsons,  Col.  L.  B.,  Letter  of 43,  131 

Parsons,  Miss  Emily 73,  74 

Partridge,  George 8 

Peabody,  Rev.  Chas.,  Sup't,  35— Peabody,  J.H.,  Surg.,  U.  S.  V 64 

Pea  Ridge,  Battle  of,  27,  131— wounded,  27— Agent  sent  with  stores,  29— his  account  of.30,  32 

Peake,  E.  S.,  Chaplain,  Letter  of. 93 

Pettigrew,  S . ,  Chaplain 66 

Phelps,  Mrs .  John  S. ,  her  heroism  at  Pea  Ridge 34 

Pittsburg  Landing,  battle  of,  42,  131- wounded  of,   43,   44— delegations  and  hospital 

steamers  sent,  for  them 43,  44 

Plattenburg,  A.  W.,  29,  30,  33.  34— letter  of. 96 

Plummer,  Mrs.  S.  A.,  matron 83,  84,  85 

Post  Hospitals ,  St.  Louis 74,  87 

Prairie  Grove,  battle  of,  61— supplies  furnished 61 

Prem  iums ,  given  to  uest  stewards ,  nurses ,  etc i9 

Pope ,  Dr 126 

Pope,  Maj .  Gen 2 

Porter,  D .  D .  Admiral 57 

Prentiss,  B.  M.  Maj.  Gen 113 

Questions  answered .' 99,  100,  101,  102 

Randolph,  J.  F.  Surg.  U.  S.  A 65 

"Red  Rover,"  naval  hospital  boat , 54,  97,  106 

Reid,  Rev.  H.  A.,  12-Mrs.  Reid 12 

Refugees,  124— their  destitution,  124— fund  raised  for,  124— further  arrivals,  125— Sad 

story,  126— at  what  places,  127— distributions  to 124,  127 

Refugee"  Homes  at  St.  Louis,  124,  126— at  Vicksburg,  128-  School  for 128 

Reports,  of  soldiers'  Homes,  38,  81— of  Mr.  Yeatman's  visit  to  Grant's  army,  71,  77— of 

freedmen 114,  119 

Resources  of  Western  Sanitary  Commission 129 

Rex,  Geo.  P.  Surg.  33d  111.  Infantry,  letter  of 97 

Ripley,  L.  B 16 

Robb,  Maj.  T.  P 75 

Rolla,  Soldiers'  Graves  there .". 14,  15 

Roosevelt,  Jas.  A 130 

Rosecrans ,  Major  Gen 131 

Rumbold,  T.  F.,  M.D.,  66 

Russell,  Ii-a,  Surgeon  U.  S.  V 73,  74 

•  'Ruth, ' '  Hospital  Transport 75 

Sanitary  Stores ,  number  and  value  of  articles  issued 131 

Sawyer,  Rev.  Samuel 112,  113 

Schofield,  Maj.  Gen ]14,  131 

Scollay's  deodorizing  coffin,  51 — Report  on  it 51,  52,  53 

Scudder,  M.  S 114 

Secessionists  assessed  for  Refugees 124 


144 

Sedalia 14 

Sherman,  W.  T. ,  General,  68,  131— his  care  for  the  sick  of  his  army 72 

Sick  and  wounded  in  St.  Louis  hospitals,  14— number  of,  45,  87— of  Grant's  army 72 

Sisters  of  Charity 3,  125 

Smith ,  M:ij .  Robt 132 

Small  Pox,  14— Hospital  at  St.  Louis 14,     87 

Special  Diet  K  itchen 74 

Soldiers' Homes 35,  36,  87,  33,  39,  80,  81,  83,  84,     85 

Soldiers  at  the  Soldier's  Home -From  what  States,  36,  82,  84,  85,  86— Character. ...    36 

St.  Louis  Hospitals 5,  6,  8,  9,  10,  14,  45,  64,  65,  66,  75,  86,     87 

St.  Louis,  its  liberality,  129-County  Court 129 

Starr,  Mrs.  Lucy  E.,  Matron 83 

Steele ,  Major  Gen .    92 

Surgeons  of  the  Regular  Army 17 

Tax  on  Cotton  growing 119 

Tefl't,  J.  E 60,  61 

Thanksgiving  at  Soldiers'  Homes 37 

Thomas,  J.  E.,  Chaplain 113 

Thornton  &  Pierce's  building  converted  to  a  hospital 45 

Tilton,  E.  II.,   Surg  ,  U.  S.  A 65 

Tompkins,  James 99 

Union  Hospital,  Memphis 75 

United  Presbyterians 115 

United  States  Sanitary  Commission 4,  93,  135 

Value  of  contributions  estimated 131 

Ventilation  in  Marine  Hospital,  St.  Louis,  64— ventilating  stoves  introduced 64 

Veteran  regiments,  97— cared  lor  by  Missouri 97 

Vicksburg,  68— battle  of,  68  -wounded  from 69 

Visitors  of  hospitals,  18— noble  women,  18— soldiers'  tribute 19 

Wages  of  Freedmen 115,  116 

Wagner,  Dr ^ 

Warriner,  Dr.  H.  A 75 

Washington  Hospital ,  Memphis 75 

Washburne,  C.  C.,  Maj.  Gen HI,  113 

Waters,  O.  E.,  Sup't 80,  83 

Waterman,  H.  J 91,  92 

Webber,  Col.  A.  W.,  Letter  of. 95 

Webster  Hospital ,  Memphis 75 

Wells ,  Mrs .  Shepherd 74 

Western  Sanitary  Commission,  origin  of,  4  to  7— of  whom  composed,  8 -its  rooms, 

16— appeal  of,  57— resources  of I-9 

Whelan,  W.,  Surg.,  U.  S.  X 57 

Whitehill,  Jas.  C.,  Surg.,  U.  S.  V.,  92— Letter  of 94 

White,  Frank  W.,  Surg.,  U.  S.  V 87 

Wilson's  Creek,  battle  of 5 

Wood,  Ass'tSurg.  General 26,  72,  74,  132 

"  Wood,  R.  C.,"  hospital  boat 26 

Wood,  Rev.  Glen 1Q1 

Wood,  Col.  W.  F 112 

Wounded,  at  new  House  of  Refuge  Hospital,  6-1'rom  Fort  Donelson,  23-of  PeaRidge, 

28,  29 -of  Pittsburg  Landing,  42-of  Vicksburg,  69,  77— Arkansas  Post 70 

Wright,  J.  J.  B.,  Surgeon  U.  S.  A.,  Medical  Director,  16  — Relations  to  the  Western 

Sanitary  Commission 17 

Wright,  Chaplain  A . ,  Sup' t.  of  Refugees  at  Pilot  Knob,  127— His  work 127 

Yeatman,  Jas.  E.8-His  visit  to  Gen.  Grant's  army,  71— His  report,  72— His  second 
visit,  76— Report,  77— Visit  to  the  Freedmen  of  the  Mississippi,  114— His  report,  114— 
His  suggestions,  119-Visit  to  Washington,  119 -Suggestions  carried  into  effect 120 

OF  THE  \ 


suggest 

fl       < 


((  UN! 


UNIVERSITY  II 

OF  JJ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


JAN    28  1948 

JUN  10 1968 
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JUN   2*8-9 


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